Little Surprises
by Nobel Grace
Summary: Mike Chadway is a new celebrity in the TV world.The ladies love him & he's making tons of money.But his life changes when a particular Red-headed girl knocks on his door. Not only does she come bearing news of Mike's past but also carrying dark secret.
1. Celebrity

Mike Chadway awoke with a casual yawn, a smile on his face and a bright day ahead of him. He was the proud talk show host of the segment _The Ugly Truth_ on the Sacramento news. He was loved by all women and an idol for all men. At 6 ft 2'' he roamed the office like it was his palace. His brown hair, unshaven face and tired blue eyes gave him a rustic look which drove women crazy. His segment was getting so popular that he had women throwing themselves, literally, at his feet and men asking for his autograph.

"Hey Mike. Just the guy I was looking for!" Larry Judd popped out of a nearby doorway. Larry stood at a height of 5 ft 7'', had a receding hairline and an expanding waistline, plus he was Mike's agent.

"Hey Larry, how's it going?" He asked, while he waved at Joy Jones, the secretary and winked as one of the makeup artists gave him a small wave.

"Listen, I was visiting with my wife's family yesterday and-"

"Oh boy! Must'a been a blast." He said sarcastically, flipping through the pile of junk mail that was waiting for him.

"Uh, it wasn't too bad. Anyways the reason I brought it up is that my brother-in-law suggested that you write a book."

"A book?" Mike said glancing down at the little man who looked nervously back up at him. "Why would you're brother suggest I write a book?"

"Well he owns a publishing business and thinks that it would be a top seller." Larry's face went slightly pink as Mike studied him.

"Why would I write a book?" Mike said, turning to the coffee machine and pouring himself a coffee.

"To give people you famous advice."

"I do that every day on TV." Mike said, heading towards his office.

"Yes, well...this way people would be able to read it over and over again, and wouldn't have to worry about missing something vital on TV." Larry spoke in convincing voice.

"So I'd pretty much be like Dr. Phil?" Mike asked with fake enthusiasm.

"Yes." Larry said with a bright smile and then it faded, "uh, I mean no." Mike smiled and walked into his office. "It would be a great book. People would buy it just because it had your name on it." Mike knew that he meant this as a compliment, Mike told himself before sitting at the desk.

"I don't know Larry. My advice is...spontaneous. I don't know if I could _write_ it all down." Mike said logging onto his computer.

"Well just think about it and let me know. I mean what are you missing?" Larry gave him thumbs up before leaving his office. Mike sighed and took a sip of his coffee. He noticed that the light on his phone was blinking so he pressed the play button to hear the messages.

"Hello Michael. This is your mother, remember me? You know the one who gave you life and raised you?" Mike smirked at his mother's dry sarcastic tone. "I was just wondering when I'll be seeing you next. I just hope that it's sometime before I die." She said, giving a dramatic sigh before hanging up. Mike grabbed the sticky notes on his desk and wrote in big bold letters, "_**CALL MOM**_" and stuck it to his computer screen.

"Hey Mike, its Tina. I was just thinking about you. I am having a party on Saturday night and just wondering...if you'd come. It would be really great if you did. You see I have this friend and I was-well if you're going to come, give me a call. Ok buh-bye." Mike groaned. This was the product of a one night stand gone horrible wrong by giving out the real phone number. Plus he hated the term buh-bye and he hated when girls tried to make it sound sexy. All it did for him was made him think of a horny 16 year old.

The third message was a series of different noises, such as car horn, street vendors and a soft breathing in the back ground. Then it ended with a click. Mike shrugged, deleted the messages and opened up his email on the computer. He noticed he had two IM's already. One was from Stuart, the head cheese in this business, who had taken a liking to Mike's brutal honesty and sarcastic sense of humour.

TIME:9:02 am  
SUBJECT:GOLF

Hey want to go out after work tomorrow and whack a few?

Mike read this twice and let out a laugh at his word choice. He deleted the message without even thinking of replying. The next IM was from Abby Richter, the producer of the show. Abby was every man's fantasy girl, with her long blonde hair, nice full breasts, small waist and perfectly shaped butt. Her only problem was that she had to be in charge of everything and she was constantly giving orders.

FROM:RICHTER  
TIME:9:10 am  
SUBJECT:LINES

You need to follow my advice and stick to the lines that I spend hours and hours preparing. Not everyone wants to hear about blowjobs and women's "flower gardens". Stop being so disgusting and follow the script.

Mike smiled and hit the reply button.

TO:RICHTER

TIME:9:15 am  
SUBJECT:RATINGS

Well good morning to you too precious. Excuse me, your highness, but if you permit me...I believe that I bring in majority of the ratings. I saved your ass. So you should be more grateful. As for the "scripts", they are the mere guide lines to my disgusting nature. SO thank you.

He smiled as he hit the send button. She always took out her anger on his, but it never seemed to bother him. In fact he enjoyed it. He knew exactly how she would react. She was already in a horrible mood and this would only piss her off even more. She would make a "huffing" sound, look around the room and then begin to type furiously. She would tie her hair, scowl and reread her email before sending it. Sure enough Mike had just started going over his material for the new show, when the computer dinged, indicating a new message. He smiled as he hit the open button.

FROM:RICHTER  
TIME:9:22 am  
SUBJECT:RE:RATINGS

You never even came close to saving my ass, although you sure as hell would like too. Don't flatter yourself by thinking that I will ever be grateful that you work here.

He hit the reply button quickly.

TO:RICHTER

TIME:9:27 am  
SUBJECT:GIFT

You're right. I would like to get close to your ass. Which reminds me...did you try out my gift yet?

Earlier in the week Mike had left a small gift bag on Abby's desk. He had the brilliant idea, after a segment on sex toys, that maybe Abby needed a pick-me-up. So when she pulled the vibrator out of the bag with a curious expression on his face he had howled with laughter. Her face went beat red and she started screaming at him. She swore up and down that it was sexual harassment before slamming the door in his face. He laughed even harder when he realized that she had kept the vibrator in the room with her. He knew as he started flipping through his notes that she wouldn't write back because she was too embarrassed. So he started focusing on what he would talk about today and it didn't take him long to decide his ranting on marriage. He whistled past Abby's closed office door as he headed down to make-up.

"9 out of 10 times a man cheats on his wife due to her castrating him, either through work or in the comfort of his own house. Or maybe it's the fact that she's so damn ugly. No matter what the problem is...ladies, if your man's cheating, stop being so controlling and critical. Here's a simple solution. Put on a little bit of makeup, and head to the gym, maybe buy some nasty lingerie. That, my friends, is the Ugly Truth." The theme music started playing, indicating the end of his segment.

"And cut." Stuart shouted. Mike saw him coming towards him and tried to find a means of escape, but found that he was cornered. "Hey Mike. Good work out there today." He said patting Mike on the back. His bright, toothy smile was partly covered by a thick grey moustache and his face was blotchy and shiny.

"Thanks." Mike said.

"Oh, did you get my message this morning?" Stuart asked. Mike pretended to be thinking really hard, trying to remember if he had read an email this morning before he shook his head.

"No, why? What was it about?" He lied.

"I thought for sure...I was wondering if you wanted to hit the course after work." He looked hopeful. He would do anything to get away from his hateful, angry, fat wife. Mike pitied him, but not enough to want to spend an afternoon golfing with him.

"Sorry Stuart, but I've got a...hot date after work. I don't want to miss it. You know?" He said giving Stuart a playful wink. Stuart smiled and nodded slightly.

"Alright, well we can go another day. Just let me know when you're free." He said walking away sadly.

"Will do." Mike called after him, before turning to head up to his office. He was passing through the part of the set where the different screens are kept, when a pair of small, manicured hands grabbed him and pulled him through the curtain.

Two soft lips were on his before he could speak, moving quickly and fiercely. He opened his eyes and saw black, curly hair. She groaned as he pulled away. The girl standing in front of him looked vaguely familiar and as he studied her face he realized that he had slept with her months ago and had avoided her every since. She was one of the journalists for the news station, and worked on the top floor so avoiding her wasn't very hard. She ran her fingers threw his hair as he tried to remember her name. She smiled up at him and bit her bottom lip suggestively. He smiled back down at her and searched his brain for the right words to turn her down, but she pulled his head down to meet hers and he gave up on rejecting her. He lifted her onto his lap and she wrapped her legs around him. Her skirt was around her waist by now and it would be over in a matter of minutes, so why not?

Mike came out of the curtain buttoning his shirt. The girl however needed to fix pretty much her entire look. Her hair needed to be brushed, her skirt was still showing half of her butt and her shirt was completely unbuttoned. He smiled at her quickly, tapped her butt and walked away.

"Call me." She pleaded after him. He turned to give her his best smile and said, "Will do!"

Already his day was going extremely well. He had delivered a good show, had quick, satisfying bit of sex and it wasn't even lunchtime yet. He got back to his desk and looked at his phone. No messages on either his work phone or his computer. Mike sighed, leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. He decided that he would take the rest of the day off, maybe take his mother out for lunch.

He approached Abby's office and noticed that the blinds were closed. He pressed his ear against the door listening carefully, but heard no noise at all. She frowned and pressed harder on the door.

"Um, I don't know what you're doing, but I'm not in there." Her amused voice came from behind him, and he jumped. She was standing, looking at him with raised eyebrows and her arms folded over her chest. She wore a black skirt that just reached her knees and a white blouse that had short sleeves. Her hair was in a long ponytail and she had a mug of coffee in her hand. He looked at her and gave her a charming smile.

"Oh, I was...doesn't matter. I just wanted to let you know that I'm taking the rest of the day off." He smiled as he walked past her.

"Hold on a second. You can't. We need to work on tomorrow's show." She called after him, but he didn't stop walking. He hit the button for the elevator and it appeared almost at once.

"Come by later tonight." He laughed as the people around gave him smug smiles or shocked expressions.

"Very funny Chadway!" She shouted back. "You're going to have to-" The rest of the sentence was lost as the elevator door shut her out. Winding Abby up was pretty much the sole reason that he came to work every day, that and the large pay that he received. He loved the way her eyes flared with anger and how her cheeks went pink when she was embarrassed, or how her hair- STOP IT! He kicked himself. I can't think about her this way.

Luckily for him, the cute blonde make-up artist got in the elevator. She was probably 21, maybe 22; 15 years younger but who's counting. She casually pressed the button she needed and tossed her blonde hair to the other side of her head. She stood beside him and looked up at the lit numbers. He leaned against the back wall and watched her.

Her hands were clenched tightly to a folder, probably because she was nervous, which defied the short skirt and silky white top, that when hit with a certain amount of light showed a light blue bra. She was chewing on her bottom lip and staring intently at the numbers or the floor. She never made eye contact with him, though he could tell that she wanted to.

"What's your name?" He asked her. She looked at him quickly, smiled and squeaked, "Jane, Jane Berlam."

"Nice to meet you." He stood up straighter and held out his hand to her. "I'm Mike Chadway."

"I know." She beamed up at him and then her cheeks went red. "Well I mean, who doesn't know...you're famous around here." She rambled. He smiled down and watched her lips move but never registered the fact that she was speaking. The elevator doors opened just as she asked him something, to which he had not been listening. He nodded to her.

"Well, I'd better be going. Let's get together for coffee or something." He said as he walked out of the elevator.

"I'd like that." She smiled at him and he watched the doors close. Her name was already forgotten.

It didn't take him long to find where he parked his black 2005 mustang convertible. He got into the car and exhaled. He loved this car. He loved how the leather seats felt under him, how the car roared as he picked up speed and how fast it went when he pushed it. If this car was a woman, she would be perfect. But none-the-less, it wasn't and he had to go and pick up his favourite woman in the whole world, his mother.


	2. All You Need Is Love

He pulled up to the house half an hour later. He turned off the car and sat silently looking up at the old house. This was the house he grew up in. He looked over the white house, with the blue shutters that he had been forced to paint when he was 16. He remembered spending countless hours outside with his mother working on her perfect garden that sat just under the porch and drifted around the side of the house. His eyes skimmed the creaky porch and the rocking chairs that sat on them. A cup of coffee, a pair of reading glasses and his mother's crossword book sat on the table in between the two chairs.

He got out of the car and walked up the gravel path to the front door. He picked up her stuff, before he opened the screen door and went inside. The hallway was dark except for a little light coming from the back window and the window at the top of the stairs. He went through the door to his right and found his mother in the kitchen.

"Listen Liz, she just needs some gripe juice. It will settle her tummy." She paused to listen giving him a slight wave and a warm smile. He sat down at the table and watched her talk on the phone while she rearranged a flower arrangement on the kitchen counter. For 67 she was still beautiful. Her hair was grey with the occasional streak of white mixed into her hair. She wore it in a bun today, but some strands had gotten loose and curled around her face. She wore a touch of mascara and a bit of lip stick but nothing else. She wasn't the thinnest woman, but what normal woman was at 67? She had on her #1 grandma apron, that his sister Elizabeth had given her to indicate that she was having a baby. But with Lizzie's luck everything happens in twos. The first time she lost a tooth, she lost 2 in one day. She got two speeding tickets in one day and gave birth to two babies, one boy and one girl. Hannah and Luke were 6 months old and Liz called to freak out on the tiniest thing.

"It's just a little gas honey." She rolled her eyes at him. "No don't call the doctor. Listen, Mike and I are going out for lunch. We'll stop by for a second ok?" She nodded and said bye into the phone.

"Well we better get a move on." Mike said.

"Sorry honey. She's so irrational. I mean she's almost 40. She should be calmer by now." Mike laughed as he kissed his mother's cheek and held open the door for her. "You don't mind do you?"

"Not at all. I haven't seen the rug rats in forever." He saw his sister 4 months ago at the annual family reunion on his father's side. It had been awkward and uncomfortable, but they stuck together and made it through. His father had left them when Mike was 12 and Liz was 15. He called a lot for the first couple of months but then, slowly, the phone calls became less frequent and then only calling every couple of months. He called on birthdays and Christmas but as the years passed the kids became more and more hostile to him so he stopped calling all together. These days they would get the occasional birthday card or Christmas card which was now not only signed by their father, but also by his 40 something year old wife and their cat.

They pulled up to Lizzie's house 10 minutes later and his mother rushed out of the car. Elizabeth had a huge house, which came naturally with 2 high incomes. She was a criminal lawyer and her husband, Tyler, was a corporate lawyer. The two had met in law school and married 2 years later when the both graduated. Tyler was a fun guy to be around. He had good quality jokes and stories to tell about his university days, before Liz. And still Mike admired him because despite his crude sense of humour, he was a great father and a pretty good husband.

The door flung open as Mike reached the steps. Elizabeth exhaled and the tears poured down her face. Her brown hair was in a ponytail and she had no make-up on. She looked tired, indicated by the bags under her blue eyes. He could hear a distant crying coming from the living room.

"Mom, she won't stop crying!" Lizzie exclaimed.

"That doesn't mean that you need to try to outdo her." Their mother snapped, giving her a stern look before rushing past them into the living room. Elizabeth was taken aback by her mother's harsh tone, but Mike came to the rescue by pulling his sister into a tight hug. She cried into his chest for 3 minutes and then stopped. It became quite clear that the baby had stopped crying as well, because the house was quiet.

When they went into the living room, his mother was rocking the baby and Hannah was sucking contently on her pacifier. She was a really chubby baby, with dark brown eyes and bleach blonde hair. It was uncertain where she got her hair colour from because both Liz and Tyler had dark hair, but somehow she was a blonde.

"She's huge." Mike whispered, trying not to disturb her. Hannah is the higher maintenance twin. She cried more, gets sick easier and is always hungry. She also hates being on the floor or in the playpen.

"I know. Luke looks so scrawny next to her." Liz said with a small smile. Mike had forgotten about Luke for a second. He spotted the baby sitting up in the playpen, quietly chewing on a plastic book. Luke had dark brown eyes as well, but he had jet black hair. He stared at you with curiosity and amusement and often smiled at you, for no reason at all, and you couldn't help but smile back. "He's gonna be just like you Mike." Liz had said to him once. "He's the biggest charmer I have ever met, apart from you." She teased. He looked at his nephew with pride but pity as well. If he was going to be like Mike then Mike knew the life he had to look forward too...and it wasn't all that spectacular.

"Mom, I don't know how you managed..." Liz exhaled as his mother passed her the sleeping baby. She smiled and stroked her daughter's cheek.

"It took years of practice. Next time give her gripe juice right away and rock her, she'll fall right to sleep." She kissed Liz's cheek lightly, waved to Luke who beamed back at her and then they headed out the door.

"Problem solved." She exhaled as she sank into the leather seat. "Now we can go to lunch. Where did you have in mind?"

"Uh, well..." he hadn't thought this part through. It was always in the women's department to pick the place. "You pick." He said with a charming smile, and she shook her head.

"Didn't think that far huh?" She said and Mike chuckled. "Alright let's see." She placed a finger to her chin as she thought of good places to go. "Let's go to Charlie's on Springer Street. They have fantastic pasta there." She said her eyes bright with excitement.

"Ok mom." He smiled at her enthusiasm. For this woman he would do anything.

"So Michael, I know you're not going to be too happy with me saying this..." she started.

"Then don't say it." He groaned.

"I have to. As your mother it's my job." She said twirling Chicken Alfredo onto her fork. "Honey, 36 is a little too old to still be having fun. There's gotta be someone out there that you must like." She said, as if talking to a teenager. Mike smiled at her.

"There are plenty of women that I _like_...I just don't want to marry them that's all." She huffed at this.

"You know what your problem is? You have sex way to early in the relationship to even get close to the girl."

"Well I don't think you can get any closer than sex." Mike laughed as a young blonde waiter glanced at him with a shocked expression. He looked back at his mother's disapproving face and mumbled "Sorry."

"You know exactly what I mean Michael. Sex is about love; about unity. You don't go into a relationship based on sex."

"Exactly why I'm not in a relationship."

"Michael, seriously. I bet if you held off on having sex with _one_ girl you would learn more about her, maybe actually have feelings for her. Your father and I waited until 1 year before we had sex..."

"And look how that turned out." He kicked himself as a look of hurt crossed her face. "Sorry Mom, I didn't mean-"

"Your father and I may be divorced but we loved each other. We just grew apart; went in separate directions. Our split was for the best."

"So you keep saying." He mumbled bitterly into his glass of Rickards Red.

"Let's not get into this please!" She sighed wiping her mouth with the napkin.

"Fine..." They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, just looking around, avoiding eye contact with each other. Finally she broke the silence.

"Maria was you last wasn't she?"

"Huh?" He choked at the sound of _her_ name.

"She was your last serious relationship."

"I don't like talking about it." He mumbled.

"That was what? 20 years ago?" She ignored.

"No mother we were older. I was 18 when she..."

"Left you?"

"Jesus mother! I told you! I don't want to talk about it! I haven't wanted to before and I don't want to know." He snapped, causing people to look curiously at them.

"Don't you swear at me!" She scolded. "There's no need to be so sensitive about it. It happened forever ago. Move on already. You were teenagers. Everyone knows it never lasts when you're a teen."

"I loved her." He whispered furiously. "I had a ring and everything. She rejected me and the disappeared. Excuse me if I never want to go through that again!" He felt that all too familiar hard lump rise in his chest.

"My goodness son, stop being ridiculous! I'm sorry I'm not more sensitive about it, but you've been holding on to this for too long. Let it go...find someone new." She placed a gentle hand on his and all he wanted to do was pull away from her, but he couldn't. She looked at him with a pleading/concerned look and he sighed.

"Well I shall look, but don't get your hopes up." She smiled brightly at him. With one quick nod the conversation was finished and she moved onto his career choice. He now remembered why he tended to avoid his mother.


	3. Time Warp

**A/N: Ok so for this chapter the beginning may be boring only because I decided to go into detail about Mike's house. If you would like to skip the details of Mike's house, that's cool (i'm not offended and completley understand). Just look for the *** below and it picks up from there...I promise!**

After dropping his mother off at her house Mike felt like he needed a night to unwind, relax, and take a break from everybody. So he stopped by the nearest Blockbuster and rented 3 of the scariest movies he could find and picked up the greasiest pizza that ever existed. This was a common result from spending more than 30 minutes with his mother. He had the sudden urge to be fat and watch horrible acting, with fake blood and ridiculous plot lines.

He pulled into the driveway and parked his car in front of the garage door. He had bought this house almost 4 months ago, when he had been offered the job to do his Ugly Truth segment on the Sacramento News. His real-estate agent had been pushing luxurious flats and what he called "Party Pads", but none of them made him want to come home to them and lay out on the couch and watch the big game. Liz teased him repeatedly every time he turned down a house, telling him that it was so cute that finally he was nesting. He rolled his eyes at her and denied it, but in some ways it was true. He still liked to go out, get drunk, have crazy random sex with girls 10 years younger, but he also liked to live in a place that had history and a "homey" feeling. So when he stumbled upon this place in a desperate attempt at 3 o'clock in the morning, he knew it was the _one._

The house was ideal for his life style, not too small, but big enough that he could have parties and if needed people could stay over. It was a one story house with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, built in 1965 with 2000 sq ft of living space. The front doors were 10 inches thick of solid oak wood that had been stained to go with the cream coloured siding. When you walked into the house you instantly felt warm and calm. The entry way and hallway were painted a soft brown to match the hardwood flooring in the hallway. As you walked down the entryway the next room you encountered was a large hallway that branched off into two directions. To the right you came across the living room, where Mike would sit and do whatever extra bits of work that needed to be completed. You stepped down in the open, brightly lit room and felt the soft plush carpet under your feet. It had a matching living room set of cream colour, microfiber, no sag-spring construction couches. Basically no matter how many times you sat in them they would remain firm and soft, as if you had just bought them. At least that's what Kim, his decorator, had told him when he complained about the $1000 couches that she chose for the room.

The room next to the living room was the "family room" or his "man cave" as Liz teased. This room was more masculine seeing as Mike had decorated this room himself. Like the living room you stepped down onto the soft, white carpet, but unlike the living room this room had more of a kick to it. There was a long black, suede couch (which Liz said was so tacky) and a matching Laz-E-Boy chair in the corner. The chair and couch faced a large, white bricked fireplace with a 61" plasma TV. In the corner of the living room was stereo system with surround sound speakers throughout the house.

Across from the Man Cave was the kitchen and it was apart from his master bedroom and the man cave, his favourite room. He never had ambition to cook, seeing as he was living in the house by himself, but he loved sitting in the kitchen and making sure that the fridge was full of groceries. The kitchen had just been redone when he moved it. It had mahogany cupboards with nice granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances. The counter top wrapped around to form a breakfast bar and beside the refrigerator was a small white door that led out to the garage.

Beside this room was the dining room. He almost never used this room, but Kim had made sure it was the second most expensively decorated rooms. She managed to fit a long chestnut wood table in the room that could seat 6 people. The windows in the dining room looked out over the driveway and she had covered them with white lace curtains and dark red drapes. She put up different types of plants (which had died by this point so he'd chucked them) and paintings of cafe's and dinner parties by famous French painters. When he looked at this room he shuddered at the amount of money he wasted.

To the right of the entryway was the sleeping quarters. There were two bedrooms, one slightly larger from each other but directly beside each other. It was Kim's bright idea to give each room a colour code. So the larger room had become the yellow room and the smaller room had become the green room (gender neutral colours of course). The green room came first, looking out over the porch. Both rooms were generally the same. In the green room the walls had been painted a mint green colour, and in the yellow room the walls were painted soft custard yellow. There was a queen sized bed in the middle of the room and a small dresser with two accompanying bedside tables. In both rooms the duvet and bed sheets were both starch white to match the carpet and complimented the dark wrought iron bed and mirror that hung over the dresser. These rooms, Mike thought, would be perfect for Hannah and Luke when they were out of diapers and ready for sleepovers.

The master bedroom was the most expensive room in the house. It was located beside the laundry room and the shared guest bathroom. It was painted dark grey on one wall and light grey on the other 3 walls, with a black comforter and grey sheets on his king sized bed. He had a dresser against one wall, and a 46" plasma TV above it. In the corner of the room was a tall black reading chair, for decorative purposes. There was a small door beside the chair that led to the walk in closet, which then lead to the on suite bathroom. It had "his and her" sinks with one large glass mirror and a Jacuzzi bathtub and a glass shower off to one side of the room. On the left side of the room, like in the living room and Family room, stood two wide French doors that lead to the deck in the back yard.

***Mike sighed as he thought over his house, happy that he had found it, not as bitter as he was when he had regretfully signed the overly paid interior decorator Kim to fix up the place for him. He grabbed the pizza and the movies and went into the house. He went directly into the man cave and set the pizza and movies onto the table. Then he went and grabbed 4 beers from the fridge popped the movie into the DVD player and closed the drapes. He fell back onto the couch and cracked open his can of beer, flipped open the pizza box and sat back, sighing deeply as the movie started to play "scary" music. Just as the title of the movie popped onto the screen the doorbell rang.

"Oh for the love of..."he grumbled as he went to answer the door. It rang two more, anxious, hurry-your-ass-up rings, before Mike answered it. He flung open the door, scowling and said "What?"

"Is that how you greet all your visitors?" Abby asked looking at him with a shock, yet amused expression. Her long blond hair was in a pony tail and she was wearing a white t-shirt with a pair of dark blue jeans and high heeled boots. She handed him a 6 pack of beer as she entered the house.

"Sure come on in." He said sarcastically. She chose to ignore this by answering "Thanks."

She slid off her high-heeled boots and stood looking around the place. "You know I was expecting to walk in here thinking it would need a woman's touch but I must say..." She strode over to a painting of a woman holding an umbrella on a hill, and smiled back at him. "La Promenade? I didn't know you were a fan of art." She said, studying the painting again.

"I'm not. It was my decorator's idea." He mumbled carrying the beer into the kitchen and aware of the sound of her socked feet following him.

"It's not bad." She said again.

"You sound surprised." He said with a slight snap.

"You sound grumpy." She said trying hard not to smile. "What's up Mikey? Feeling a bit lonely tonight?" She raised her eyebrows at him and he shook his head, mumbling under his breath as he put the beer in the fridge.

"Want one?" He asked, standing up again, but she was gone. "Abby?"

"Yea?" She called. He headed for the sound of her voice and found her sitting on his couch, eating a piece of pizza, with a can of beer already open in her hand. She had made herself quite at home here.

"Comfy?" He asked, slightly agitated but also amused.

"Surprisingly yes." She said with a mouthful of pizza. "What movie is this?" She asked frowning at the screen.

"The Brood." He said sitting on the couch beside her.

"Ugh! It's disgusting." She said as a group of mutant children came onto the screen and a little girl started screaming. "They look like teletubbies only without the antennas and purses."

"Plus the fact that their slimy and covered in blood." Mike added cheerfully as she turned away from the TV.

"Ugh. How can you watch this? It's not even scary. It's just bad acting and fake blood." She said still avoiding looking at the TV. He chuckled. "Let's watch something else." She said getting up and turning the movie off with the remote. He looked at her with a shocked expression.

"Wait a second, you just what? Popped over for a visit?" He looked at her curiously as she clearly pretended to be reading the back of Pet Cemetery.

"This one looks scary. Is it good?" She asked holding it out to him.

"Everyone's seen this movie." He said non-chalantly. "It's a classic."

"So it's good then?" She spoke with more of statement rather than a question.

"Abby, what do you want?" He said with a sigh. She looked at him shocked and then her cheeks went pink and her shock faded to just plain embarrassment.

"I...I need your help." She mumbled and Mike had to stop himself from laughing.

"I'm sorry, what did you say? I couldn't quite hear you."

"I need your help!" She snapped. Her cheeks were bright pink and when she saw his smug smile they went three shades darker.

"I see." He said.

"Stop smiling! It isn't what you're thinking!"

"The fact that _you_ are asking _me_ for help...amuses me." He said with a shrug and she groaned.

"Oh forget I even came if that's how you're going to be." She grabbed her bag beside the couch and got off the couch faster than he had ever seen anyone move before. Somehow he managed to grab hold of her wrist.

"Hold on Fireball. What do you need help with?" He said.

"I said forget it!" She spat.

"Just tell me." He rolled his eyes and let her go.

"Fine..." She rubbed her wrist and looked away. "I...I need help with a boy."

"A boy? I didn't know you were into boys!" He teased.

"A MAN! You know what I mean!" She cried.

"Well, that's different then." He placed his hands behind his head and leaned back against the couch. "What would you like help with?"

"Well you see..." She turned to look at him and one glance at his smug smile made her turn away. She took a deep breath and sighed. "His name is Colin. He's a surgeon and lives across the path from me. He just moved in, and he helped me get the cat from the..." She shook her head. "He's smart and funny and _soooooo gorgeous!_ " She stopped talking, clearly thinking about something. Mike could see the smile growing on her face and she instinctively started playing with her pony tail. He rolled his eyes, snapped his fingers and said,

"Focus Barbie! You've got a long night ahead for wet dreams." The smile instantly vanished from her face and she looked repulsed.

"_You are disgusting_!"

"And you're a fake blonde but here we are." He shrugged. "Besides you came to me remember?" She snarled at him and took off out of the living room. He heard the front door open and jumped off the couch.

"What's in it for me?" He called after her as he stood on the porch. The old lady across the road looked over at him and stood listening while she pretended to be reading through her mail. Abby stopped walking and turned to look at him. It was getting dark outside and her face was just barely visible.

"I...uh...I don't know." She said moving back onto the porch. She looked around and bit her bottom lip, which he knew she did when she was thinking hard about something. "I...could...um..."

"I've got an idea." He said. She looked up hopeful and then remembered who she was talking too and cringed.

"Alright tell me."

"If you get this guy, you've got to lay off on all that _sticking to the script_ shit." He said in a mocking tone, to which she glared at him.

"That's it?" She said.

"No of course not! I'm not that stupid."

"That's debatable." She sighed. "Well?"

"You've got to do my paper work for a month." Her eyes shot open in surprise.

"I could get in a lot of trouble for that." She said.

"No one will know but you and me." He said with a charming smile. She studied his face and then sighed.

"Alright." She said, sticking out her hand for him to shake.

"You must really like this guy."

"He's a cat person." She said as if that was the most important thing in the world.

"Well that explains it all." He mocked and went back into the house. He could feel her glaring at him as he walked back inside. But to his surprise she followed him back into the house.

"Well are you in?" She asked closing the door behind her and he smirked.

"Bet that's not the first time you asked that question." He smiled at her and winked.

"Ugh." She gave him a look of pure disgust before heading back into the man cave to watch the next movie.

"I'll grab some more beer from the fridge shall I?" He called after her as she lay down on the couch.

"If you want." She said with a sing song tone. He rolled his eyes, grumbling as he went into the kitchen. "Grab some paper towels while you're in there." She called after him, laughter clear in her voice.

The clock struck 11 as the movie finished. He grabbed the remote and opened the DVD player. He took out the DVD and put it away in the case. He grabbed the last movie, Amityville Horror, and put it in the DVD player. He became aware of the sound of empty beer cans being collected. He turned around just in time to see Abby carrying the empty cans into the kitchen. Typical woman!

"You don't have to clean up. I am capable." He called after her watching her walk into the kitchen.

"I don't mind." She said. He rolled his eyes and started the next movie. He heard the garage door open and shook his head. When she came back out she was carrying two more cans and a bag of chips she had found in the cupboards.

"You just make yourself at home huh?" He said as she threw him a can.

"You don't mind, or you would've done something about it." She said as she lay back down on the couch, resting her feet on his lap. She shook his head at her and found that he was at a loss for words. He didn't want to admit it but he liked the feeling of having another person in the house with him. It felt, oddly, more comfortable.

"You better not drink that or you won't be able to drive home." He said trying to snatch the beer away from her.

"That's ok." She shrugged. "I'll just stay here...with you." She said biting on the rim of the can. He watched her for a second and then smiled.

"You need more lessons on how to flirt." He said, rolled his eyes. A flash of hurt crossed over her face before she smiled.

"I flirt fine."

"Oh really?"

"I saw the way you were looking at me when I-" but she was cut off by the doorbell. She looked at him curiously before a big grin grew on her face. "A bit late for callers don't you think?"

"Well you're still here, so obviously not." He said starting to get up. She placed a hand suggestively on his shoulder and moved closer to him, so closer that he could feel her breath on his lips.

"I'll get it." She whispered, placing a hand on his thigh. "Besides I've always wanted to meet one of your ladies of the night." She said with a victorious laugh as she left the room. He exhaled deeply and rubbed his face.

"If you're lucky, you might learn something that will work." He said getting up and following her to the front door. She stood, standing on her tip toes, peering out the peephole.

"It's a girl." She whispered. "I didn't know you were such a perve. Well I mean, I knew...I guess a part of me didn't want to believe it."

"Get out of the way." He said, rolling his eyes. He opened the door and the smile playing at the edges of his lips faded. He stared at the girl standing in front of him like he had never seen another human being before. "Maria?" He blinked at her. But even as he said it he knew that it wasn't her. The girl who stood in front of him, smiled slightly as she shook her head. She was about 17/18, with long curly brown red hair. Her face was almost the exact replica of Maria's, except for her pale blue eyes and that too familiar crooked smile.

"No, but close." She had put her shaking hands into the back pockets of her jeans. "I'm her daughter." She looked down at her black tennis shoes , avoiding meeting his eyes.

"Would you like to come in?" Abby asked from behind him, causing both of them to jump. The girl looked up, startled as her eyes focused on Abby. Then she smiled and nodded and Mike moved out of the way to let the girl in. She picked up her green duffle bag and walked into the house timidly. She looked around as she entered the house and smiled briefly at him before looking back down at her shoes. She wasn't as pale as her mother. She had a slight tan to her skin and hardly any freckles. But her blue eyes were same shape as her mother's brown eyes and he couldn't stop the pain shot through his chest.

"How...how is your...mother?" Mike asked hesitantly. The pain in his chest was making it difficult to breathe let alone to talk.

"She um...She's...She died." The girl, still staring at her shoes, shrugged.

"What?" He said rather emotionally, causing the girl to jump. "I'm sorry." The pain in his voice must have been evident because both Abby and the girl looked at him with sad expressions. "I'm so sorry."

"It's ok. It happened months ago." The girl said, trying to sound like she had gotten over it.

"What's your name?" Abby asked quietly.

"Anne, well everyone calls me Annie." She said with a slight smile as she pulled the bag higher on her shoulder. Abby stuck out her hand and smiled brightly.

"I'm Abigail Richter, but everyone calls me Abby." She said and the girl smiled and shook her hand. Abby looked at Mike expectantly and Mike shook his head.

"Right, I'm Mike Chadway, but you obviously know that." He said and she smiled at him.

"Nice to meet you." She peeped.

"Annie, if you don't mind. Why are you here?" He asked, in what was meant to be a curiously tone but came out slightly agitated.

"I...I...I'm sorry for turning up so late. It's just that the train...and then the cabs..." she rambled and Mike struggled to keep up.

"Oh don't worry honey. We were just watching really lame scary movies that you're...I mean Mike picked up." Abby blushed as the girl gave her a piercing, curious stare. Mike looked from one to the other and felt so confused.

"Am I missing something? Because I feel like you're having a private conversation and I'm not included." He said. Abby gave Mike a hard look and then sighed.

"I'm just going to use the bathroom." She turned around. "This way right?" She pointed to the guestrooms and Mike, not even thinking nodded.

"She's nice." Annie said. "Girlfriend?"

"Colleague." He said and she nodded with understanding. "Annie, right? Is there something wrong? Is there some reason why you're not telling me why you're here?" He watched the girl take a deep breath and close her eyes tight. When she opened them, she looked directly into his eyes and said.

"I'm your daughter."


	4. Anything Like Me

"I just don't understand." Mike said rubbing his face as he walked by Annie, who sitting on the couch, for the 15th time. She was studying her hands carefully, her red curly hair covering her face.

"You mean you don't see the resemblance?" Abby said from behind him. She had a cold look in her eye as she watched him uncomfortably pace the room.

"Of course I can see it." He snapped at her. He looked back at Annie who was looking at him with a curious expression, as if trying to recognize parts of herself in him. He sighed when the thought of how hard this must be for her passed through his mind. "I just don't understand why she never told me." His lowered his voice to barely a whisper.

"Oh," Annie sighed. "She told me that she didn't think it was fair to tie you down at 18 with a child. She said she had made the choice to keep me and didn't want you to have to choose between us and your life." Annie watched him as this sunk in. His eyebrows furrowed with frustration and anger and he turned to the window. "I think it was because she was scared."

"Scared?" Mike bit back a bitter laugh.  
"Yea. She was scared that if she told you, well, you might leave her. She was afraid to do it alone, well, ok she did it alone, but she was afraid to be forced to raise a kid alone. So she made the choice to do it herself before you could." There was a hint of agitation in her voice as she said this and Mike turned to look at her. He met her cool blue eyes and felt shocked.

"You think I would've left her? You think that just because she was having a baby I would've taken off?" He said, trying to hide the hurt in his voice.

"I don't know. It's just that's what normally happens."

"I loved your mother." He said pointing a finger at her. "It was her who screwed me over. She chose for me! Never even gave me a chance."

"You're forgetting she was a kid herself." Abby added. "She was young and scared of being rejected."

"She wasn't a kid last year or the year before that." Mike snapped. "She has had tons of time to tell me. She's just too selfish and spoiled and-"

"MIKE!" Abby shouted her eyes wide. Her gaze drifted to Annie sitting on the couch looking at him with a horrified expression and tears in her eyes. He sighed, guilt overtaking all the other emotions.

"I'm sorry."

"This was a mistake." She said standing up, wiping her eyes.

"No Annie, wait." Abby said. "He didn't mean it. Trust me."

"No, I can't stay here." She said pushing past Abby and heading towards the front door. Mike looked at Abby and she glared back.

"Go!" She whispered. "This is your one chance to have a relationship with your daughter!"

"She doesn't want-"

"Go Mike!" She snapped. He sighed and chased after her. She was already half way down the driveway when he caught up to her. Tears were streaming down her face and it was a pink, probably from embarrassment and the tears.

"Annie wait! Please." She turned away from him and kept walking. "Please. I'm sorry about what I said about your mom. I just…please, let me explain." The amount of sincerity and pain he felt must've been obvious to her because she stopped walking and turned slightly towards him. "She…When she left, it killed me. It hurts to think about her." He sighed. "Please, come back inside. At least stay the night." She looked up at him; her make up smudged under her eyes, her hands shaking. "Please…"She sighed and looked down the pitch black street. Then she wiped her eyes, pulled her bag onto her shoulder and turned back. He couldn't help but smile a bit. She stopped in front of the door and turned to him. There was a hard determined look on her face. He could see Abby standing in the hallway watching carefully.

"Look. I turn 18 in a month. I just need a place to stay until then. After that, I'll be out of your way." She snapped shocking both Mike and Abby, all sign of tears gone.

"Of course you can stay." Abby said.

"I don't recall you buying this house." Mike said, slightly amused and slightly annoyed.

"She's you're daughter Michael!" Abby snapped. "Don't be an ass!" He looked at her worried face and then Annie's strong, determined expression and squinted his eyes at her.

"Just a month?"

"MICHAEL!" Abby shrieked.

"Just a month." Annie said with a nod.

"Alright, you can stay." He watched her chest literally deflate with relief. Abby shook her head, sighing.

"Thank you." Annie said with a short nod, and pulled her bag father onto her shoulder. This was something that he had discovered she did when extremely uncomfortable.

"Is that all you traveled with?" Abby asked and Annie's cheeks went pink.

"I…I just took what I needed. The rest is being put in storage until I'm 18." She said looking down at her shoes.

"Well I'll show you your room." He said heading off down the hallway. He became aware that she wasn't following him and he turned to look at her.

"I have a room." She said with a shocked expression.

"Would you prefer to sleep on the couch for a month?" He asked, trying to hide his amusement.

"No, but I just…" She pulled on the bag again. "Thanks." She said shortly and followed after him.

"I've got an extra room." He said to her.

"Its for all those girls he brings home." Abby explained. "He's got a no sleeping rule!" She teased and Mike was shocked to see a quick smile cross Annie's lips.

"Don't listen to her. She's just jealous that she's never been invited over." He said over his shoulder.

"You wish!" She mumbled and he smiled.

He stopped in front of the yellow room, opened the door and turned on the light. He stepped into the room and Annie followed him. She looked around, with an expression he couldn't read.

"It's nice." She said quietly. "Very fem-"

"Feminine I know. I have a niece, so I figured this would be her room, when they stay over." Annie looked at him with a bright expression.

"I never even thought that I'd have…" the look faded and then she turned away.

"Anyways close go in the dresser, obviously. Bathroom's just down the hall and there are clean towels in the cupboard beside the laundry room." He said pointing out the doors to her. When he opened the cupboard door to show her the towels she cringed. He looked back at the closet and tried to figure out what she was freaking out about. The towels were shoved into the narrow cupboard, some about to fall out. He shrugged, finding nothing crawling in there and closed the door. "That's my room." He pointed to the double doors. "Kitchen's down that way, along with the living room and the Man…I mean family room." He said pointing down the hallway. She nodded and turned around to look at the place again.

"This place is...really nice. Nothing like my…" She turned away, heading into the room.

"Like what?" He followed her.

"Like…. my old place." She said sadly.

"Where did you live?" He asked carefully.

"New York. Mom and I moved out of Gran's place when I was 6. We moved t our first apartment, our only apartment actually. It was completely different than this place."

"How so?" Mike was shocked at how curious he was about Annie's life. She sat down on the bed, feeling the duvet and sighed.

"Well my old room, it was half, not even half the size of this room." She smiled sadly. "Barely had room to move, but it never mattered because I normally slept with Mom anyways."

"Why? Did you have nightmares or something?"

"No, not really. My window looked down onto a bar that never really cared how loud the music was."

"Hm…New York." She smiled slightly and looked around the room again. He pictured her in a tiny pink room, with a small bed that had flowers on it and a small dollhouse on the ground where she would play while Maria made dinner. He shook his head and sighed.

"Well, I'll let you get settled in. If your hungry there might be some pizza in the fridge if Abby hasn't ate it all."

"Very funny!" Just as he had expected she had been listening and shouted back at him. He smiled at Annie, but she just watched him with that same unreadable expression.

"Thanks..."She whispered. He smiled at her.

"Good night." He closed the door behind him. He hesitated outside the room, before sighing and heading back down the hallway to the man cave.

Abby was lying on the couch picking at her nails. He sighed, picked up a beer from the table and sat on the couch, to which she placed her feet on his lap again.

"Well, well. Aren't we the devious one!" She said with a smirk and smiled brighter at his confused expression. "You know getting a girl knocked up in high school."

"How was I supposed to know?" He rubbed his face and took a long swig of his beer, which was now warm.

"Well did you talk to her?"

"You know I was talking to her."

"She sounds like a good kid." She said sitting up straighter.

"You got that from her talking about her old apartment?"

"No I got it from the way she talked about her mom. Plus the fact that she crossed the entire country right after her mom died, to find you."

"Yea well…"

"Plus she's opening up to you." He laughed.

"Where you watching the same scene that I was?"

"She told you about her room! That means something." Abby explained and when Mike gave a snort of disbelief she further explained. "She should be holding back from you, after all you're a complete stranger. But there's something about you that she feels comfortable with and she, after 20 minutes of knowing you, gave you some sort of insight to her life." Mike thought about this for a moment and sighed.

"I don't know how to raise a kid."

"Um, maybe you missed the memo, but she's only here for a month, which means she's 17, almost 18 and therefore does not need to be raised. You don't really have to do anything if you don't want to, just make sure she's fed and clothed and comfortable." Mike sighed again.

"I don't know." He said and then Abby punched him. "Ouch! What was that for?" He rubbed his arm.

"You're a complete idiot! You bitched and complained that you never got a chance and that she left before your could chose, blah blah blah. Obviously she knew you well enough because look at you. You've got the easiest part now and your backing out."

"I'm not backing out!" He snapped.

"Your thinking about it." She said. "You're being given a chance Michael! A chance to have a relationship with the daughter that you never knew you had. She needs you to be there for her, give her some fatherly advice now and again and comfort her when she's sad about her mother! That's a gift! You should be thankful and stop fucking thinking of yourself for once!" Abby stood up and started picking up the beer cans.

"I know how important this is and I'm not thinking about myself. I just don't want to screw this girl up." He defended.

"She was screwed when you impregnated her mother!" Abby snapped, and then realized what she said.

"Don't hold back, please." Mike snapped angrily, and headed into the kitchen.

"Listen, I'm sorry. But you make me so angry!" She sighed and placed the cans on the kitchen counter. He leaned against the stove and looked at her.

"I don't know…how to…"

"I'll he-lp…you…" She said slowly, regretting saying it as soon as it left her lips.

"Great!" He said sarcastically.

"You need help so much, I'm…willing to help you."

"What can you do that will help me?"

"I don't know. I can go shopping with her for clothes. If she needs someone to talk to about girl stuff I'll be here."

"I don't know if I want my daughter around you, you're a bad influence."

"Cute, being protective already." She said sarcastically. "Anyways in exhcange for my help, you can help me with Colin."

"I thought we already agreed what my payment will be."

"What are you going to give me then?" She said putting her hands on her hips.

"I never asked for help."

"You will though." She said turning and heading down to the green room.

"I don't think so." He looked at her puzzled. "What are you doing?" He asked as she opened the door.

"Having a sleepover." She winked.

"Pardon?" He stared at her with complete disbelief.

"I'm too impaired to drive home and so are you. So I'll sleep over. Don't worry I'll make the bed and be gone in the morning before you wake up." She smiled brightly. "Goodnight." And then the door closed and he stood staring, unable to move.

She had a lot of nerve, inviting herself in, lying on his couch and then sleeping in his bed, or at least one of them. He groaned as he turned off the rest of the lights and walked quietly to his room. The house was completely quiet; the only sound was from the air conditioner. He tore off his t-shirt and jeans and crawled into bed and lay perfectly still, slightly afraid of what the future held. 


	5. Somebody Knows You

Annie awoke the next morning and stretched. Despite meeting her long lost father the night before, she had one of the best nights sleep she could remember. The noise from the New York streets was like cannon's exploding to the soft sounds of the birds chirping and the occasional car drive past the house. She yawned and rested her arms above her head. She listened for any sign of movement and heard nothing, so she decided that it was time to wake up. She pushed back the covers and rolled out of bed. She pulled her crazy red hair into a ponytail and heard her stomach grumble. She had been starving last night when she had arrived, but she had been too proud to say anything. She had only managed to get to sleep after she brushed her teeth three times.

She opened the bedroom door and headed for the bathroom. While washing her hands she looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing her favorite black Jonas Brothers Concert Tee that her mom had bought when they went to their concert last year, and a pair of dark blue-checkered pants. She sighed and peered closer to her face. Her eyes were the same colour as his, and they did have the same nose. But it seemed almost impossible that _he _was _her_ father. After all the years that she had imagined her father, Mike Chadway was not what she had pictured, never even came close.

She opened the bathroom door and quietly walked down the hallway. As she ventured closer to the kitchen she became aware of the pancake and bacon aromas mixing splendidly in the air, making her stomach growl louder. She walked into the kitchen and found a plate covered with a white t-towel and a yellow sticky note on it.

_Annie,_

_ Here is a plate of food that Abby made this morning before work. I'll be home around 3 o'clock and if you have any problems all the numbers you need to know are on the fridge._

_ -Mike_

Annie looked at the fridge and sure enough there was a long list of every single phone number Mike had thought of. There was a couple named Elizabeth and Tyler and there was a woman named Linda, the fire department, police department and 911 were also listed right below the 4 different types of cab companies in this part of town. Annie shook her head and searched for a fork and knife before she started eating her breakfast.

She sat at the kitchen table and sat around listening to the quiet house. At 10 o'clock in the morning it was extremely peaceful and it made Abby feel more relaxed and tired. She ate quietly thinking about how long this month would be if she were to be stuck in this quiet house everyday.

When she finished her plate she rinsed it and put it in the dishwasher. Then she decided that it was time to start attempting to tan. Being born with pale skin meant that tanning was almost never likely going to happen. The only colour she got was from new, darker freckles that formed from the sun. But nonetheless, when she looked out onto the patio and saw the cushioned lounge chair she had decided that now was that moment.

After changing into her green bikini with white polka dots, and grabbing her sunglasses, iPod and suntan lotion Annie went outside and set up around the long chair. She grabbed the sun tan lotion and rubbed some onto all the sensitive areas of her body, like her stomach the tops of her shoulders, her nose and the tops of her things. After the tiring process of putting sun tan lotion on Annie laid back on the cushions, slipped on her sunglasses, put in her ear buds and floated away, listening to the sounds of John Mayer's smooth voice telling her that her body was a wonderland.

Around 1230 Abby felt hungry again and by this time she had moved under the gazebo and was sitting on the chair, tanning only her calves now, reading a book she had found in the guest room. She sighed stood up and decided that she would shower first, and then after lunch clean "her room". She went into the bedroom, unzipped her duffle bag, which she hadn't unpacked yet and got out a pair of faded blue jean shorts and a white t-shirt and a light pink tank top to go underneath.

She left her cloths in the bathroom and started the shower. While she was waiting for it to hit the perfect temperature she went to grab herself some clean towels. As the cupboard door opened again she winced and then peeked up at the atrocious organizing. She placed her hands on her hips and frowned. Then her OCD kicked in and she got down to work.

Mike walked through the door at 3:30. As soon as the cool, air-conditioned air hit his face he exhaled and felt instantly relaxed. He kicked off his shoes and pulled off his baseball cap. He had a busy day, first messing up on air and almost telling the whole world about Annie, and then forgetting to complete his paper work from last week, so he had double the amount of work to do. The other thing was that he had the urge to call home and just check on Annie, making sure she was finding everything ok. Basically he was trying to figure out if she was still around. He looked around and everything was the exact same, no sign that she had been here at all. The he spotted her tennis shoes neatly placed on the shoe rack beside the door and exhaled.

"Hello?" He called out and headed down the hallway.

"He-Hello?" She peeped back.

"Annie?" Mike said confused. "Where are you?" He looked around the sitting room where he was sure the sound had come from but yet saw nothing.

"I'm out here." She said quietly and he noticed that the door was open. She was scrunched on the chair painting her toenails bright blue. Her hair was curly and still slightly damp from her shower. She looked up at him as he stepped out onto the patio and smiled slightly. "Hello." She said.

"Uh, how was your day?" He asked, eyeing her carefully as he sat in the cushioned chair across from her. She shrugged.

"Meh. How about you?"

"Meh." He copied and she smirked. "Oh, speaking of work…I talked to my mother today." Annie's hands froze in mid stroke. Though she never looked up at him, Mike knew she was listening. "I told her about you and she would like to, uh, meet you." Annie looked up at him curiously. "Of course I told her that I wasn't going to make any promises because you had just moved in, but she is still really excited about meeting you." Annie smiled slightly.

"What…what do I call her?" Annie asked.

"Well my sister's kids call, or they will call her Nana, but you can just call her Linda if you would like. " Mike shrugged and sat in the chair in front of her. She studied his face carefully for a few minutes, then turned back to her toes.

"Ok." She said with a nod, without even looking at him.

"Are you sure?" He asked eyeing her carefully. Her gaze flicked up to him and she shrugged again.

"Why not?" She put the brush back in the bottle and tightened it.

"Good!" he said with a sigh. "Well come on then." She looked up at him with shock as he stood up and walked to the back door.

"Go? Go where?"

"Oh didn't I mention, that she's coming tonight?" He smirked at the look of instant horror on her face. "She wouldn't take no for an answer and told me to come home and warn you before she should up with my sister and the rugrats later. Oh and to make a decent meal." He shook his head and she would've smirked but she was all of a sudden terrified.

"I thought…" She started.

"Don't worry their not that bad." He reassured her. "Come on. I gotta get groceries for dinner and might as well show you around while you're here."

"I…" She looked around for an excuse and found nothing.

"You'll learn that there's one thing that runs in this family. No one takes no for an answer. You have to do it!" He chuckled and held out his hand to her. She looked at it, as if examining it for bacteria, before she sighed and slipped her tiny hand into his. He pulled her off the chair and let go of her hand.

"What about my toes?" She whined like a teenager and he smirked.

"Wear flip flops." He said and went inside.

"Come on!" He called down the hallway and she let out an audible sigh. She felt nervous; so nervous that she could puke. She looked around the room and found nothing else to stall her and left the room. "Took long enough." He teased and she rolled her eyes at him.

"You just got ready too quick." She said with a smirk and slipped on her sunglasses, walking out onto the porch.

When she stepped out onto the porch she noticed a sleek black car in the driveway. She stopped and stared at it. A rock formed in the pit of her stomach as she ran her eyes over it. Mike smiled at her and unlocked it with the key in his hand.

"Is…Is that your car?" She asked.

"Yup." He said proudly opening up the passenger door for her. She looked up at him, trying to hide the growing anxiety from her face. She smiled and slid into the passenger seat and he closed the door. She exhaled and closed her eyes, feeling the leather under her legs and the new car smell. When the door opened, she opened her eyes and looked out her window.

"Nice car." She said.

"Thanks." He said starting the ignition. "Seat belt."

"I don't think I'll ever get used to this." She said, buckling her seatbelt and rested her head on the cool headrest, watching the house get smaller and smaller as they went down the driveway.

"What do you mean?"

"Its…Well…this place. It's so different from home. It's more…kid friendly and brighter and…"

"Expensive." He said with a sad smile.

"Yea." She sighed. "I guess I just wonder…" She fell silent and he knew what she was about to say and fell quiet. After a moment he sighed.

"You'll get used to it. After a week or two." He smiled slightly and then the smile faded when he realized she would be just getting comfortable and then she'd be gone.

"I bet it goes really fast." She said with a happier tone.

"What goes fast?"

"This car." He smirked.

"Yea, kinda." She smiled.

"Mom's old car never went over 120."

"Well I'll have to let you try it out one day." He said happily.

"Really? No way! I'd be too scared." She said honestly.

"Why?" He laughed.

"I might…break it." She said and he laughed some more.

"Well we'll make sure that doesn't happen. Plus that's what insurance is for." He smiled down at her and she couldn't stop the smile that formed on her lips. When she realized that she was smiling she looked away.

"So, you can cook?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Sort of. I dated a girl who worked as a chef."

"By dated you mean slept with a couple times?" She teased, unable to stop herself. He smirked.

"You've been around Abby too long." He looked at her and she shrugged. She had talked to Abby during the day, only because Abby had called to check up on her, which Annie thought was weird. "But yea that's it basically. She taught me some useful dishes."

"Cool." She said half-heartedly.

"Can you cook?"

"Me? No. Well I know how to cook a couple of things that always seem to turn out good."

"Well then you and I are not that far off from each other then." He said and she shrugged. "So you're mom cooked then?" She looked at her hands and nodded. "Sorry. I didn't mean…"

"No it's ok. She was a great cook. One of the best." Annie said with a sad smile.

"She wasn't very good when we were dating. She would always burn stuff." He said with a fond smile and Annie's face was pale and sad. She was silent for the rest of the trip to the store. When he pulled into the parking spot she sighed as she undid her seat belt and opened the door.

"Wanna push the kart?" He asked her handing her the quarter. She smirked at him.

"Oh really? Wow! Thanks." He chuckled as she got the kart and they walked into the store. Mike looked around carefully. "So…what's the plan?"

"Huh?" He asked looking back at her.

"What are two horrible cooks going to make for dinner?" She asked with a sarcastic tone as she looked over a group of teens walking by. The girls stared at him with adoring gazes and one small brunette girl smile and waved at Mike. She scrunched her nose at them and rolled her eyes. "Fans of yours?"

"Probably not." He said, brushing it off and starting off for the vegetables. He was a man with a mission and Annie just trailed along behind him, adding her opinion when he asked for it. In the frozen dessert aisle a short, scrawny man with black-rimmed glasses walked up to them and offered his hand to Mike.

"Mike Chadway! It's so nice to meet you." The Urkle-look-alike said. Mike started at him completely shocked.

"Uh…"

"Oh…ha." The man laughed, turned pink and pushed up his glasses. "I'm Kevin Jones from Vermont. You're biggest fan." Annie snorted and the man frowned at her.

"You really saved my marriage." He gushed.

"Well…that's…uh good. Its what I set out to do." Mike said with a curt nod and tried to walk away but Kevin Jones from Vermont stepped in his path again.

"No seriously man! That segment that you did last week about Blow Jo-"

"Sorry, but we'd better be going." Mike said flustered. He put his arm around Annie's shoulders and moved forward. Kevin Jones from Vermont looked taken aback and then smiled.

"Well thanks anyway Mike Chadway! You're the man." He called after him. They turned down the next aisle, finding themselves in the dairy section. She hadn't noticed his arm around her shoulders until he had let go of her. It had felt so normal, like it happened daily. Mike sighed and looked around.

"I thought the teenage girls were bad." Annie said with a smirk and Mike shook his head at her. "That happens a lot?"

"More than you would believe." He said with a sigh as he picked up a carton of eggs and opened it; his OCD kicking in as he started examining every egg precisely.

"I watched your show today." She said, looking away from him. She could feel him looking at her and she waited a moment before she looked back. He was shocked. "It wasn't the funniest segment but it was good." She said with a shrug.

"How many shows have you…seen?" He looked embarrassed.

"All of them." She said. "Ever since I found out that you were my…father." She looked away.

"How did you…"

"I Googled you." She laughed at his expression. "I read about your low budget TV show and started watching from there. Then one day I, well Mom, was watching the news and there you were. So I started watching every day since then."

"I never…huh." He was startled at how she had known about him for so long and he hadn't even thought it was possible. "Well you shouldn't watch it." He said with a stern expression. Annie looked at him is disbelief and then burst out laughing. It was the first time she'd laughed in a while and he smiled at her.

"Why not?" She asked.

"Because…it's not…appropriate." This made her laugh even harder. The sound of her laughter made him laugh too.

"You do know that I'm 18 in a month right?"

"So? That doesn't mean you anything." He dismissed it with a wave of his hand.

"You can't be serious."

"Well some of the…issues I talk about aren't meant for young people." He sounded like an old woman.

"You really think I don't know what a blow job is?" She whispered the word for dramatic effect and he frowned at her. "Seriously, what time period are you from? There are kids having sex years younger than me. I mean a man's sexual peak is t 18." She added as if that explained everything. "Plus I have a boyfriend." His head shot up and he stared at her with wide concerned eyes. She realized how it sounded and laughed again, holding up her hands. "Whoa! That came out completely wrong. I don't do…that!" He raised his eyebrows with skepticism.

"I promise you! That's…gross." She shivered with disgust and he nodded.

"Good! Keep it that way." She smiled at his sudden urge to protect her.

"Are you like this with all teenaged girls my age, or is it just the long lost daughters who turn up on your doorstep randomly one night?" He smiled.

"Other girls have their own parents to worry about them." He said. A simple sentence filled with a million different meanings. She watched him smile at her and then he disappeared down the next aisle. That rock was back in her stomach again.

"I never knew you were such a prude." She said, teasing him again.

"Prude? How?" He said examining a jug of milk.

"The way you're so afraid that I know about sex let alone have it." She smiled and then it faded into embarrassment when he gave her _the raised eyebrow_.

"You've…"She blushed a deep crimson and turned away to examine the yoghurts. "Well…" He sighed. "There's nothing I can do about it. After all, it's not like I'm one to judge." She smiled and her face didn't feel so hot anymore. "Did you're mother know?"

"Probably not." Annie snorted, her face hard. Then she smiled and looked up at him. "She was…very…"

"Naive." He finished for her and she smiled.

"We never talked about it. I've only had the one boyfriend and we started dating around the time that she…got sick." She trailed off.

"I see. Well then…" After examining all of the milk jugs, he placed one in the kart. He started off towards the check out and it wasn't until they were getting back into the car did he speak. "I want to meet this guy." He said quietly. He knew that he had no right in her personal life, but he felt like he should meet him just to make sure. When he looked at her she was completely frozen, her mouth open in shock.

"You…what?"

"I would like to meet him, if that's ok with you."

"Why?" She asked defensively.

"Because I…have the right to know who your dating." He said trying out the bad cop role and not liking it. She snorted.

"You…just because you impregnated my mother doesn't make you my father! Well technically it does but you weren't there! You don't know me." She said flustered and angry; her face was almost as red as her hair.

"He's that bad huh?" Mike smiled and she sighed.

"He's not bad. It's just…he's not what you would expect."

"I have no expectations." He said honestly. "I just want to make sure that he's going to take care of you." She looked at him and felt tears in her eyes. She looked away and took a deep breath.

"I'll ask him." She whispered.

"Good!" He said genuinely happy. "Invite him this weekend."

"This weekend?" She asked shocked.

"Sure. Unless he's busy. Next week works too."

"N-No this weekends fine. Better actually." She said looking thoughtful. She stared out the window and he felt the urge to know what she was thinking so seriously about. "Thanks." She whispered so low that he had to ask himself if she had really said anything. He never answered to save her pride, but he smiled the whole way home.


	6. With You, Without You

The doorbell rang at half 6. Just on time. Mike glanced at Annie, who was putting the final slices of cucumber in the salad. She looked up at him and smiled. She had changed into a white skirt and a navy blue blouse with short sleeves. She had curled her hair into large curls and pinned it back, out of her face.

"Ready?" He asked and she gave him a quick nod. "You stay here." She looked taken aback, and somewhat hurt. "No it's only for dramatic affect." He said with his most charming smile. Annie rolled her eyes and turned back to the salad. What he really wanted was to give his family the final warning about how to behave in front of her. He wasn't about to risk upsetting her and having her leave that quickly.

Before he even reached the door he heard it open and suddenly there were loud voices and a whimpering cry. He sighed and rolled his eyes. As his mother came into view he smiled.

"Mother." He said shortly and pushed them all back into the entryway.

"Michael that's no way to treat your…"

"Listen. I'm glad you're here. I want you to meet her and for her to meet you, but you must not…I repeat must not bombard her with questions and hug and kisses. She's not comfortable yet and you showing up on day 2 isn't going to help her get more comfortable." He whispered furiously, taking in his mother's best Sunday dress, her hair in a neat bun, even a hint of make up. Liz was wearing a short black cocktail dress and her brown hair was long and straight. Even poor Tyler, carrying both Hannah and Luke was wearing a tie.

"Michael dear, we will be on our best behavior. Trust me." She patted his shoulder and looked down the hallway. "Now where is she?" Michael rolled his eyes. He led them down the hallway and into the kitchen. Annie was standing on the opposite side of the counter, still pretending to be fixing the salad but he could see that she was freaking out. He went and stood behind her and placed both his hands on her shoulders.

"Mom, this is my daughter, Annie." He could see in his mother's eyes that she was bursting but to his surprise she remained remotely calm…for a moment. Then she let out a sigh and moved forward. She wrapped Annie in a hug and there were tears in her eyes.

"Not exactly what I meant by not freaking her out mother." Mike whispered furiously and Linda let go and stood back.

"Sorry! You're just so beautiful! Just like your mother." She placed her hands on either side of Annie's face and studied it. "She has your eyes though Michael."

"Alright Mom, give the girl some breathing room." Liz said from behind her. She stuck out her hand and smiled brightly. "Hi, I'm Elizabeth, but you can call me Liz."

"Annie." She said shaking Liz's hand. She looked at Tyler and smiled meekly.

"Oh this is my husband Tyler, and our twins…"

"Hannah and Luke." Annie finished and Liz smiled. "Mike talks about a lot." She explained with a smile.

"Really? Hopefully all good things." Liz said giving her brother a look that said _I'm watching you_.

"Well now that everyone knows everyone…" Mike started. "Lets put the rug rats in the family room and I'll get everyone a drink. Mom, Liz wine?" He said reaching up to the cupboard above the stove to get the wine glasses. Liz often teased him about having wine glasses in his bachelor pad, and no matter how many times he said "I hired a decorator" she still laughed and said he was a closet homosexual.

"So Annie, how old are you?"

"I already told you Mom." Mike said sighing.

"I'm 18. Well I will be in a month." Annie said.

"Michael told us that you were only staying for a month. How come?" Linda questioned some more.

"Well, I turn 18 in a month and I'll be old enough to take care of myself." Annie explained patiently.

"I see." Linda clearly disapproved and Annie looked to Mike for support.

"She'll be fine. I know it. She's tough, like her mom." Annie's face went pale and she looked away. Liz and Linda shot Mike the exact same angry expression.

"So Annie, have you been out around the town yet?" Liz asked.

"Um, not yet." Annie said.

"She just got here yesterday." Mike explained for the sixth time that day.

"Well I'll have to take you out for a girl's day, show you around. Only if you're up for it though." Liz said with a smile.

"Uh, sure." Annie smiled back. "That'd be…cool."

"See…I told you I'd be a cool aunt." Liz said, sticking her tongue out a Mike. He chuckled and handed Annie a glass of white wine. She looked at him with shock and Linda laughed.

"I see your mother wasn't very fond of drinking." She said.

"It's not…she just never liked me drinking it. Well she never gave it to me voluntarily." Annie said staring into the glass as if it would solve all her problems.

"A little wine with dinner isn't a bad thing honey." Linda said, patting Annie's hand. "It's when you drink it all the time, that it becomes an issue." She said looking point blank at Mike. Tyler coughed on his beer and Mike sighed.

"Guess it's time for supper."

"Oh I brought a wonderful Strawberry Rhubarb pie. Straight from the garden." Linda said, reaching into a large black bag, which Michael had never noticed before. "You do like Rhubarb pie right my dear?" She asked Annie.

"It's my favorite." Annie admitted and Linda beamed.

"Yes. I can see the resemblance already."

"So then we rushed him to the hospital, afraid that it was appendicitis. When we get there we're waiting in emergency for half an hour mind you, the doctor examines him, pushes on his stomach and _phfft_." Linda made a farting sound. "He looks up at me and smiles and says, I feel better." Linda starts laughing again and Liz is smiling. Annie looks at Mike at the head of the table and he rolls his eyes, but still smiles.

"Your fault for feeding me spicy foods at such a young age." Mike said.

"Oh Pooh. You were eating spicy foods in the womb and it never affected you. Almost 8 days late before he decided to grace us with his presence." Linda said with a snort and held up her glass to Tyler, who sat closest to the wine bottle. Dinner had been eaten with a great success and they had just finished eating their pieces of pie. Linda and Liz had drunk one whole bottle of wine plus half of the second and the night was still young.

"I was late too, or so my mother kept remin- Or so she said." Annie smiled. "They had to induce her." Annie smiled and looked at Mike who was studying her carefully, probably regretting not being there.

"Well if it was any question before about whether or not you're his daughter its been answered by now."

"She's got the family OCD." Mike said with a wink and she looked at him shocked.

"I do not have OCD!" Annie argued.

"Yes you do." He looked at his family. "I came home today and went to get towels from the closet and there they are, all stacked neatly by colour and size and state. " He smiled at her and she blushed and covered her face with her hands. She laughed along with everyone else. "Seriously! You should go look. It's amazing." He said proudly.

"Well at least I don't spend 20 minutes picking out Milk." Annie shot back with a triumphant smile.

"Isn't it ridiculous. He's in their for an hour extra because of it." Liz said with a giggle. She wiped the face of the chubby baby, Hannah, who was sitting on Liz's knee just finishing her dinner. Annie smiled at the baby and felt instantly sorry for her. The poor thing was dressed in the puffiest, pink, frilly dress Annie had ever seen. For her rather large size she looked like she was being suffocated by all the lace and bows. To complete the whole outfit was a ridiculous pink headband with a big white bow on top.

"Well Michael. I think it's time for some tea." Linda said getting up. Everyone else followed queue, standing up.

"I'll put the kettle on and clean up in here." Michael said.

"I can help you." Liz said. "Annie will you hold him for me." She nodded to the tiny baby who was sitting so quietly in his father's arms, sucking on his soother and looking around with obvious curiosity.

"Uh…sure." She said and looked nervously at Tyler. He smiled warmly and held out the baby to her. He went willingly, clinging to her shoulders. She had never held a baby before, but it didn't seem so hard. Luke lifted his head and looked at her, studying her face. Then he touched her cheek and smiled brightly.

"He's so cute." Annie gushed and Tyler chuckled.

"Yup he's the charmer." He said, leading the way into the living room. In the room there was a large red blanket on the floor and there were baby toys dumped on top of it. Tyler sat on the ground and placed Hannah on top of the blanket, holding up a loud rattle before she could cry. With some difficulty Annie sat in front of Tyler and placed Luke on the blanket too. He sat calmly in front of her and kept looking over his shoulder at her and giving her a big smile.

"Pain in the ass huh?" Tyler asked. She looked at him with a confused yet amused expression. His jet-black hair was combed back neatly and his eyes twinkled with pure happiness. For an older guy he was pretty good looking, Annie thought. Then she scolded herself because this was her uncle and it was gross to think your uncle was attractive.

"Uh, what is?" She asked looking away and picking up a toy that she thought was a mixture between a slinky and stuffed elephant.

"These family functions. Bet you wished you were by yourself right about now?" She looked up at him and smiled.

"No, not at all."

"I know I did, when I went to my first family function." He said and she shook her head.

"Ok it's a bit overwhelming I guess, but…I like seeing…where I came from." She said. She was surprised by how easy it was to talk to these people and to be completely honest with them.

"I just want to show her the pictures Michael. That's all." Linda said appearing in the living room with a big black book. She smiled brightly at Annie and sat down on the edge of the couch. "Come. Sit." She patted the seat beside her and Annie looked towards Mike who shrugged and rolled his eyes.

Once Annie was seated on the couch, Linda put the book on the table and opened the first page. It was a scrapbook. Mike's scrapbook to be exact and this was made known by the very first page which had a giant baby picture of him and his name and birth date in bright gold letters.

"Wasn't he just so cute." Linda said as she turned the page and there were multiple pictures of Michael throughout his infancy. There were pictures of Mike and 4-year-old Elizabeth and there were pictures of Mike and his father, which Linda explained with a snappy tone. The next page was his first birthday and his face was covered with cake. He was wearing a party hat and had a huge grin on his face.

"Luke looks a lot like you as a baby." Annie pointed out and Liz sighed.

"Unfortunate huh?" and then she winked at her baby brother and he shook his head.

As Linda flipped threw the pages, Annie got to see into a little glimpse of what Mike's childhood had been like. He went from a little chubby boy at 10 to a glum, scrawny 13-year-old to a bulked up, muscular 16-year-old quarterback. When Linda turned the next page, she watched Annie's face carefully.

"What is the theme of this page?" Annie asked looking at Mike at 13, 16 18, 25 and every picture was with a different girl.

"These are all of his girlfriends." Linda said with a sigh. "Well the ones that he introduced us too that is."

"Oh God! You didn't put those in there…" Mike groaned, but Annie stopped listening because she spotted her at that moment. She grabbed the book, without even thinking and dragged it closer to her face, so she could see it better.

She looked at the picture that was almost directly in the middle of the page and defiantly the largest on the page. That nose was familiar and the curly red hair, the freckles. But that couldn't be. The woman she knew never looked as happy and carefree as that. Annie traced her fingers over the picture of her Mike giving her mother a piggyback ride and both were smiling at the camera.

"Is that…?"She asked but didn't need answer because she knew it was her mother.

"You didn't recognize her?" Linda asked suspiciously.

"She looked…different than this." She had cut her hair short for as long as Annie could remember and her eyes were always ringed with black make-up to hide the bags that hung under them.

"Of course she did. She was just a kid there." Mike said clearly agitated. "She's bound to change over the years."

"You look just like her." Linda said quietly, looking at Annie's face with a smile. "Like the Maria we knew." Annie shook her head and looked away.

"Ok, time to put the pictures away mother." Mike snapped grabbing the book from Annie's hands.

"I told you it wasn't a good idea mom." Liz said with a sigh.

"I just thought…Oh Annie, honey I'm so sorry." There were tears in Linda's eyes too.

"It's ok. I just…I think I'll just go to bed now." Annie said standing up and quickly wiping her face. She smiled bravely and faced everyone. "It was nice to meet you."

"You too Annie." Tyler said.

"Night." Liz said sadly. She left the room quickly and knew that Mike was following her.

"Annie?" He said quietly.

"I'm ok." She said without looking at him.

"It's ok." He said and those two words stopped her from walking any further.

"What?" She asked over her shoulder.

"It's ok, they way your feeling. To feel mad and angry, but also to feel sad and alone. It's ok to cry and let it all out." He said placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm here for you if you need me." She felt like her heart weighed a million pounds and just wanted to shake it off but it wouldn't budge. "Annie?" He asked and she realized she had been standing there without saying anything. She wiped her face and smiled at him.

"I'm just tired." He frowned at her and nodded.

"Ok. I'll see you in the morning?" It was more of a question rather than a statement and she nodded.

"Night." She said and then went into her room and shut the door. As soon as the door was shut she let the tears pour down her face. She crumpled into a ball on he floor and sobbed quietly asking herself why she had let it end like this, why it had to be this way. After 10 minutes of sobbing she wiped her face and crawled to the bed. She pulled out an old shoebox that she had tucked under the bed.

On the top of it was glued Macaroni that spelt out her name and they were painted and covered in glitter. She smiled as she touched it and then lifted the lid. There on the top of the pile of papers in the box was a picture of her mother. This picture was her favorite picture. A nurse, at the hospital where Annie was born, took the picture.

Her mother was sitting in the bed, her face round and her eyes sparkling, smiling brightly down at the tiny bundle in her arms. She was holding onto the tiny hand that had managed to make its way out of the blankets. This was the only picture that showed proof that her mother had once loved her. When she had found this picture buried in her mother's closet she had kept it close to her always. She sometimes even put it under her pillow and when she was scared she would pull it out and look at it, praying to have some memory of that day, of that smile but finding none.

She tore off her shirt and her skirt and crawled into bed in her underwear and bra. She pulled a pillow tight to her body and reached for the photo. With the moonlight streaming in through the open blinds she could see the photo perfectly. She ran her fingers over her mother's face and sighed, letting the tears fall onto pillow in loud splats. Then she reached over, grabbed the cell phone that lay on the table and hit the number 1. It rang three times before someone answered.

"Hello?" She said, sniffling.

"Annie?" He said with a worried tone.

"I can't do this anymore." She spoke in a choked whisper.

"What do you mean you can't do this anymore? Babe we talked about this." He sighed.

"I…just…can't…"She took a deep breath and sighed. "I need you to come and get me."


	7. Two Tear Drops

Mike had thought that Annie would be gone before he woke up the next day. To his surprise she greeted him with a small smile and told him that her boyfriend, would arrive on that Friday. Before he could ask any further questions she disappeared into the bathroom and was still in there half an hour later when Mike headed out for work. He had barely slept because he had been waiting for the sound of her bedroom door creaking open and the front door slamming behind her. Now he felt exhausted and in need of a large black coffee.

After a brief stop at Starbucks and a quick flirt with the young girl behind the counter, he arrived at work fully rejuvenated. He smiled to all the women he passed and nodded at all the men, greeting the occasional person with an actual word. He swept passed Abby's closed office door and into his own office, leaving the door open behind him.

He sat down in his chair and exhaled. He too a deep breath, drank a large gulp of rich black coffee and looked at the blinking lights on his phone. He placed the coffee down, rubbed his eyes and debated hiring a assistant to listen to his messages. Just as he was about to pick up the phone to listen to them there was a soft knock on the door. He looked up and Abby was looking down at him with a small smile.

"Hello." She said.

"Morning Boss." He said sitting back with a smirk. She squinted her eyes at him and sat down in the leather chair across from him. She folded her arms over her navy blue blouse and crossed her legs, showing the perfect amount of leg in her black pencil skirt.

"So how are things going with Annie?" She asked.

"Well…" He sighed for dramatic affect. "She met my family last night."

"Oh." Abby looked down at her lap, successfully hiding the look on her face. "How'd that go?" She looked up at him.

"Well, she was doing really well. Luke, my nephew, loves her and she seemed to get along really well with Tyler, my brother-in-law. But then my mother brought out the photo album and that was the end of it."

"What happened?" Abby leaned closer, a small smile at her lips.

"Mom had made photo album/scrapbook things for Liz and I as we grew up and she thought it would be bright to show it too Annie. You know show her what her father was like as a kid."

"Yea, good idea."

"Hmm…except for the fact that she added every single girlfriend I've ever dated. When Annie saw the picture of her Mom she…changed."

"Changed? What do you mean changed?" Abby asked clearly confused.

"She freaked. She started crying and was staring at the photo like she was seeing her mother for the first time."

"Huh." Abby said, her eyebrows fusing together with thought. "That's…"

"Weird I know. Anyways she started crying and then went to bed."

"Was she there in the morning?" She looked worried now.

"Yea, she was…she acted like nothing had happened and told me that her…boyfriend was going to stop by on Friday." Abby sat back and crossed her arms again, a smirk on her lips.

"Her boyfriend?"

"Yep." He looked down at the papers on his desk to avoid her smirk.

"You want my help yet?" She asked and he gave a sarcastic grunt.

"Your help? No thanks."

"Alright, but I bet you $20. That you call me before Saturday morning." She said confidently.

"I bet $20 that you call me first." He said trying to match her confidence.

"Deal." She stood up and smoothed out her skirt. "Talk to you later?"

"Shall you just give me the $20 now? I was gonna get a burger for lunch?" He said, shuffling the papers. She laughed.

"You're on in half an hour." And left his office. He shook his head and sat back thinking about Annie and how it had seemed so easy to have her around that he was sure that Abby would be the first one to call. After all tomorrow night was Friday and she would surely have set a date with Colin for Friday night. He had this bet in the bag.

When he got home from work Annie was lying on the couch in the living room. She had a book in her hand and she was so deep in the book that she didn't even hear him.

"Hey." He said to her, standing at the step. She jumped and looked up at him.

"Hey." She mumbled which shocked him.

"Why are you inside?" He called as he went into the kitchen and placed the Chinese food on the counter.

"It's too hot outside." She said.

"I thought you would be one of those girls who would be out getting a tan?" He asked with a smile.

"Pssh! Yea right! I'm not a prissy, stuck up, little bitch who thinks the world is looking at her." She snapped. He went back into the hall and looked at her.

"What's brought this on?" He asked.

"Nothing. Sorry." She stood up, book in hand.

"Hold on a sec! What's wrong? Why are you so…angry?"

"It's nothing ok?" She snapped again.

"Anne?" He pleaded. She looked at his mouth, shocked that he had called her that, and then sighed.

"It's this stupid book!" She said throwing a book on the table, which with this weight almost broke the table. He picked it up and looked at the cover.

"Pillars of the Earth makes you this angry?" He asked trying desperately to hide his amusement.

"YES! I can't stand that William guy! And Bishop Walleran is always scheming! Why cant they just catch a break." She flopped back on the couch.

"They do in the end."

"That's like 600 pages away!" She said and rolled her eyes. He smirked and sat beside her.

"Well don't read it then. I can tell you what happens if you want. Actually I think they have a TV show on now."

"I know. I wanted to read the book before I watched the show to see the differences. But I can't…hate it!"

"Do all books get you this worked up?" He said partly teasing.

"No…" She looked away. "Ok fine! I sometimes get wrapped up in a book more than I'd like to."

"You get that from…" His voice trailed off when he remembered last night.

"From who?"

"You're, uh, mom was like that." He said, regretting even saying anything. "She'd get really…irrational when it came to books."

"Irrational! You think I'm being IRRATIONAL?" She said standing up and glaring down at him, tears forming in her eyes.

"Well kinda. After all it's just a book. Never really happened."

"Oh sure! So don't let it get to you Annie! You stupid little girl!" She said and he stared at her with pure shock.

"I never said that!"

"Not out loud but it was hidden between the lines."

"Well you should read again because I defiantly didn't say that or even mean it." He stood up and looked down on her. She looked away and a tear rolled down her cheek and he felt guilty. "Annie…"he said softly. She shook her head.

"Nothing matters now anyways." Again for what felt like the millionth time he was shocked.

"What…what do you mean?" He asked cautiously. She shook her head and wiped her face.

"I'm gonna go lie down." She said, turning away from him before he could even think. A second later her bedroom door slammed shut. He looked around the room confused as to what had just happened. A thought popped into his head and he sighed. He knew he was going to regret this.

"Well…well! Look who owes me $20!" She said placing her hands on her hips and giving him a triumphant smile.

"Yea, yea. Just come in." Mike moved out of the wave to let Abby into the house. She strode past him with a confident walk and he could help but notice the way her butt looked in her Lulu Lemon track pants. She was wearing a pink long sleeved shirt and a pair of running shoes.

"Go to the gym?" He asked, closing the door.

"What gave it away? The pony tail?" She teased.

"The pants actually." He said, smiling at her. She gave him a blank look, then her cheeks went pink and she scowled at him. "After you." He said.

"I think you should go first." He smirked at her and led the way into the kitchen. "Oh…I love Chinese, thank you!"

"Well you can have Annie's I don't think she's going to come out of their unless the boyfriend shows up a day early." He said with a sigh.

"What happened?" She asked taking out one of the packages and smelling it.

"I'm not exactly sure. When I got home she was really mad." He brought down two plates from the cupboard.

"Normal for a teenage girl." Abby said with a shrug.

"She was mad at a book." He said.

"Oh…hmm…" She scooped some rice onto her plate and then moved to the next item.

"What do you mean hmm?"

"That's what you called for?" She said with a smirk.

"Pardon?" He felt agitated at the way she was making him feel like an idiot.

"You called about a mild case of PMS."

"P-PMS?"

"Yea, all she needs is a hug and then some space." She said putting sauce on the chicken balls and the grabbing a fork. "Do you have pop?"

"In the fridge. It seemed like…so much more than just that."

"Just that! Do you know how annoying PMS can be?"

"Yes I work with you remember?"

"Ha-ha. Good one." She dropped two ice cubes into the glass and started pouring the pop. "But seriously, it's tough on girls. One moment they're this little girl without any fears and the next moment they're irrational and cry all the time and bleed from places they never had to worry about before."

"Thanks for that."

"Just trying to help you understand."

"Yea that didn't help me." She smiled at him and picked up the plate and some napkins.

"She'll be fine. I mean she'll be a little emotional for the next couple of days but its normal."

"What do I do?"

"Just comfort her when she cries and give her space when she's agitated." She left the kitchen and started off down the hall.

"Where are you going?"

"To talk to Annie." She said.

"I thought you said give her some space?"

"I said _you_ should give her some space. A girl to girl talk is different." She smiled at him and knocked on the door. He rolled his eyes and sat the kitchen table.

Half an hour later Abby came out of Annie's room. She closed the door quietly and then disappeared into the bathroom. He heard the water filling up the tub and he all he did was sit there wondering why she was taking a bath. When she came back out her hair was curlier from the steam and she walked back to Annie's room. She mumbled something too her and then took the dirty plate and cup. Annie slumped to the bathroom and Abby came back into the kitchen.

"Any food left? I'm starving."

"How'd it go?" He asked.

"Fine. She's ok. Just home sick and emotional. Telling her she's being irrational though was probably not the best move."

"I said her mom was irrational, not her."

"You compared her to her mom, Mike. It's the same thing."

"Well I'm sorry I'm not a perfect father." He snapped.

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself!" She said sitting at the table. "She'll be fine." He sighed.

"So, now you get to help me with my problem." She said brightly and he sighed.

"Alright shoot."

"Colin asked me to go out with him to dinner."

"WOW! That's a new one for a first date."

"Yes well…I always end up talking about things like babies or weddings and they get scared."

"Yes, that's not exactly something you'd wanna talk about on a first date."

"And I don't know what to wear."

"Where is he taking you?"

"The little Italian restaurant downtown."

"Hmm…semiformal. Wear a dress."

"A dress? Won't that be too much?"

"Girls wear dresses to the movies these days. I think you'll be ok."

"Ok…I…uh…will you help me pick one out?"  
"What?"

"Please! I need help!"

"Picking out a dress?"

"Yea. Annie can join us. Good father/daughter bonding." He sighed.

"That's evil using Annie so I will help you." She smiled brightly knowing that she had won.

"Where are we going again?" Annie asked from the passenger seat.

"We're going shopping?" He said with a forced smile. She looked at him curiously.

"Are you gay?" He laughed and then looked at her serious face.

"What? No! Why would you think that?"

"You're taking me shopping?"

"It was Abby's idea." He said. "She needs a dress for her date and asked if we'd come along."

"Oh…ok." She still looked confused.

"Don't father's take their daughters shopping occasionally?"

"I wouldn't know. I just met mine." She said with a smirk. "But Mel Gibson did take his daughter to get a Prom Dress in What Women Want." He realized she was trying to save him and he was grateful.

"There you go. Father/daughter shopping!" She studied his face for a second and then smiled.

They pulled up to a dress store called Isobella's and parked in an open parking space. Abby's car was parked a couple cars in front of them. He looked at Annie and she smiled, jumped out of the car and fed the meter the quarters he had given her. Together they walked into the store.

A woman greeted them in her late 30's with long brown hair, who was wearing a sleek black dress with amazing cleavage. Annie noticed him staring and nudged him in the stomach slightly.

"Need anything honey?" She asked him with a sweet southern accent.

"No thanks." Annie said, dismissing the woman. She gave Annie a fake smile, beamed at Mike and then headed back behind the counter where she could watch them. They spotted Abby at the back of the store looking at a long pink dress with spaghetti straps.

"That's not a good choice." Mike said causing Abby to jump.

"You're here." She said smiling at Annie and giving her a hug. "It's about time." She said looking at Mike over Annie's shoulder.

"He was having a tough time deciding over a black t-shirt or a grey t-shirt." Annie teased.

"Very funny!" He said, rubbing her head. "Just remember who's paying here." Abby rolled her eyes and Annie smiled.

"So what have you picked so far?" Mike said looking at Abby's empty hands.

"Obviously nothing. I've been browsing for half an hour." She sighed. He rolled his eyes and looked around. A red dress caught his eye and he smiled. He walked towards it and the two girls followed him. The dress was strapless and was cut in a sweetheart shape. It was a tight dress that stopped just above the knee and the material looked like it was wrapped around the dress.

"That one?" Annie asked.

"What's wrong with it?" Mike asked.

"It's very…"

"Skanky." Abby finished for her and Annie nodded in agreement. "I was thinking something a little more…conservative."

"What guy have you met that thinks a conservative woman is hot?" Mike asked her and she blushed. "Just try it on." He said and Abby sighed. She shuffled threw them and found her size.

"Now you pick Annie." Abby said to her.

"Me?" She was shocked.

"Yea, you are a woman after all." Abby said with a smile. "I wanted a woman's opinion more than a man's. Not that you're not helping." She said quickly to Mike as his mouth opened in defense.

"Uh, ok…" She looked around the store and smiled. "That one." Annie pointed to a light blue dress hanging on the opposite wall. It was a short dress that stopped mid thigh and had two thick straps on the shoulders. It was loose and there were light blue beads along the collar. It was a good third date dress, Mike thought, but he wasn't going to tell his over emotional, PMSing daughter that.

"I looked at that one." Abby said and looked through the dresses for her size.

"Now you need shoes." Annie said.

"Shoes? I've got shoes covered at home."

"Really?" Annie asked.

"A closet full." Abby smiled proudly.

"Can I see it?" Annie asked and Abby laughed.

"Course. We'll have a girls night and you can try on all my shoes." Annie beamed and looked at Mike.

"You should marry this girl before Colin does!" Abby laughed and turned away hiding her blush.

"Yea…No, I don't think so." Mike said, shooting a smiling Annie a warning look.

"Just giving you an idea." Annie said with a shrug.

"Go find something you like please." Mike said. She smiled at him and bounced away.

20 minutes later they were leaving the store. Abby with one bag; Annie with three. The girls were giggling and talking about some show that they watched, something about being pretty liars.

"I think Emily would be perfect if they did a real like Pocahontas movie." Annie said and Abby laughed.

"I thought that too. She looks just like the cartoon. In a good way of course."

"She's the prettiest one, I think." Annie said.

"Anyways…what time is your date at?" Mike asked purposely interrupting them.

"Uh…"She looked at her watch. "7."

"Well you should go home and get ready. Doesn't it take girls like 4 hours to get ready?"

"Girls?" Abby asked with faked offence. "We are WOMEN! And it only takes like 2 hours." Annie giggled and Mike rolled his eyes.

"Good luck." He mumbled as he opened his door.

"You too." Abby said and Mike looked at her shocked.

"For what?"

"Aren't you meeting the boyfriend today?"

"Shit I forgot." Abby looked worried at Annie. "Sorry." He said to Annie and she just shrugged.

"I forgot too." She frowned slightly.

"Better get going." Mike said climbing into the car.

"I'll call you tomorrow and let you know how it went."

"Ok." Mike said and Abby laughed.

"I was talking to Annie, but if you want to know I'll tell you too." Annie chuckled and waved as she got into the car. Abby waved as they drove away, heading home to meet Annie's boyfriend.


	8. You Have that Effect on Me

"Are you sure this is ok?" Annie asked nervously, looking out the kitchen window. She had been asking him this question every hour since they left Abby at the store. She sat at the table nervously playing with a pretzel wearing a new pink dress that had short sleeves that just covered her shoulders. It had cost him a fortune but she liked it and looked pretty in it, so it was worth it.

As he looked at her staring out the window with her straightened red hair and curled black eyelashes his heart hurt. He felt sad for missing her childhood and for not being there for her whenever she needed him. The next thought was that he was such a pussy now that he knew he had a daughter. He had just spent almost $3,000 on a complete stranger. 2 weeks ago he was cool and smooth and never gave a single thought to a woman's feelings apart from his mother. Now he was standing there worrying about saying the right words of reassurance.

"Well it's a little late to be turning back now don't you think?" He said and a flash of worry passed over her face. "I'm kidding."

"I can call his cell, right now." She said getting down from the stool.

"Don't bother. He's here." Mike nodded to the window as a green Camero pulled into the driveway. "What did you say he does?"

"Oh…uh…that's his dad's car. He inherited it when his dad died." Mike nodded. "His dad died last year and his mom took it really hard. So she's in a mental hospital, because she tried to…" She watched the figure emerge from the car and looked over at Mike nervously. They stood in silence, both counting the seconds, until the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." She whispered, her face pale and her hands shaky. He nodded and as she passed he grabbed her hand and gave it a tight squeeze. She looked at him with shock and then let out a shaky breath and smiled slightly.

Mike turned and opened the fridge. He took out a beer, cracked it open and rested against the cupboard door. He could hear the front door close and muffled voices from the hall. He strained to hear what they were talking about but it was as if they were whispering. When he heard footsteps in the hallway he turned away from the entrance and pretended to be reading the newspaper. Annie cleared her voice and Mike turned around.

"Mike this is Alex Hannon." Annie said nervously looking over her shoulder at the boy that stood behind her. And that's what he was, a boy. He didn't look older than 17 or 18 but Annie had said something about him being in his twenties. He looked like he was attempting to grow a beard but it was a failing attempt. His black hair was brushed back into a ponytail and he was wearing a white t-shirt with a black tie under his black leather jacket. Mike had to tell himself not to be so prejudice of this boy's appearance. Mike stuck out his hand and nodded.

"Mike Chadway." He said and the boy shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you." He spoke with a deep voice and his handshake was firm. "Annie's told me so much about you." He said and Annie's head dropped, her hair hiding her face.

"Me too." Mike said to save her. She peeked up at him and he smiled. "Well come in, come in. Would you like a beer?"

"Uh…Sure." he looked at Annie and she shrugged.

"Where are you staying?" Mike asked Alex as he passed him a can of beer.

"Uh…" He looked down at his hands.

"Well the thing is…"Annie started and Mike felt his stomach clench. He raised his eyebrows at her and she went pink. "Well you see, Alex…"

"I don't have a room because I just lost my job." Alex said. It was definitely something that you shouldn't tell the father of your girlfriend, but at least he was being honest. They both looked at him, watching his every move. He sighed and shook his head.

"Alright, you can stay here. But I don't want any roaming around in the middle of the night." He looked from Annie's pink face to Alex's bright eyes. "You understand?" He said directly to Alex and Alex nodded quickly.

"I promise." Annie said and smiled up at Mike. He shook his head and turned to the stove.

"I've turned into the biggest push over." He said with a deep sigh.

"Most guys do when they have a daughter." Alex said, and when Mike looked at him his face went blank and he shrugged. "I-I mean that's what I've heard anyways."

"Do you have siblings?" Mike asked him as he started stirring the boiling potatoes.

"Nope, just me."

"Any children?"

"Not that I know of." Alex laughed and then when he saw Mike's serious face he stopped laughing. "No I don't have kids." Mike studied him, then took the steaks off the kitchen counter and headed out to the deck. Alex hesitated and then followed him.

"Coming Annie?" Mike asked.

"In a sec. I just want to make sure these are being cooked right." Mike rolled his eyes at Alex and he smiled back.

"So what school did you go to?" Mike asked him.

"I went to a private school in Manhattan as a kid and then when I was a teen I…uh…"

"Dropped out?" Mike asked looking him over again.

"It just wasn't my seen. My parent's had grown up as preps and were trying to force me to be." Alex said with a hint of bitterness. "It's like trying to force a boy to be a girl." He explained.

"So what did you do after you dropped out?"

"Well…I play the guitar. I'm in a band and I travelled with my band. We opened for a Canadian band once. Ever heard of Hey Rosetta?" Alex asked.

"Not that I know of." Mike said putting the steaks on the barbeque and taking a seat at the table. Alex followed and sat across from him.

"Well I'll show you later. I know Annie has it on her iPod." Alex said and looked around. "Nice place you got here."

"Thanks."

"It's very…suburbs." Mike looked at him with confusion and Alex smiled. "You know…like you have a big job in the city where you wear a tie and everyone respects you. Then at the end of the day you come home to a Betty Crocker House wife and a couple of cute dimpled kids, home cooked meals, blah blah blah." He said with a bitter smile.

"How did you meet?"

"Huh?"

"How did you meet my daughter?" Mike said trying to hide his agitation. Alex was taken aback but he shrugged.

"She was at one of the concerts."

"And…?"

"Well I spotted her in the crowd and after the show I went and talked to her."

"Just like that?" Mike asked in disbelief.

"Yup." Alex said and something about his tone made Mike uncomfortable yet angry at the same time. Mike felt like he was having a staring contest with Annie's boyfriend. He wasn't about to back down, but the back door opened and he looked towards the door without even thinking. Annie looked nervously from Alex to Mike and back.

"Everything ok?" She asked sitting in between the two of them.

"Yea, course." Alex said grabbing her hand.

"Alex was just telling me how you met." Mike said with fake interest.

"Oh?" Annie raised her eyebrows at him. "I'm surprised you even remember." Alex looked at her carefully and then smiled.

"How could I forget?" He asked; his face pale and his lips tighter.

"You were really drunk the night we met." Annie said with a laugh. Mike raised his eyebrows and cocked his head to look at Alex.

"I wasn't that drunk." He defended.

"You were so drunk. You kept calling me Miranda." Annie said again. Alex stared at her with a smile. Mike looked away for a second and when he looked back, Annie's face was hidden by her hair and her hand was in her lap.

"That's right. I had thought you were my agent. She's a red head too." Alex explained with a smile. But Mike's attention had turned to Annie, whose shoulders were shuddering and he couldn't see her face.

"Anne? You ok?" Mike asked.

"Yea course." She said, looking away from him. Her hand went to her face and when she looked at him her eyes were glossy. He squinted his eyes at her and she looked away.

"I'm starving." Alex said sitting back and patting his flat stomach. "What are we eating?"

"Mashed potatoes, steak and corn on the cob." Annie answered. "That reminds me, I should check on the corn." She jumped up from the table and disappeared into the house. Mike flipped the steak without saying anything, thinking carefully how he would word his thoughts. When he turned around he looked at Alex carefully.

"You love her?" he asked.

"I…what?"

"Do you love her?" Mike asked again.

"Course. She's a great girl." That wasn't what Mike was looking for and he could feel the hairs sticking up on his arms.

"Yea she's great girl but so is my secretary at work and I don't love her." Mike snapped.

"I love her, of course I do. I wouldn't be here if I didn't would I?" Alex asked defensive.

"I'm not really sure why you are here."

"You invited me."

"Yea, but if it were me I wouldn't have shown up." Mike said.

"That's the difference between you and me. I'm always there for her." Mike felt like he had been stabbed with a ice-cold knife right in the chest. He was at a loss for words and could plainly see that Alex knew he had won.

"If you hurt her, I swear to God…"

"What?" Alex leaned forward. Mike had the urge to punch him, but was trying to be on his best behavior. Luckily at that moment Annie came back out. She looked at them and her eyes widened. Mike realized he was leaning on the table glaring at Alex, who was matching him, only still seated. Mike straightened up and turned back to the steaks.

"Corn's done and I'm just about to mash up the potatoes." She said.

"Ok, give me 3 more minutes and the steaks will be done too." He said, flipping the steak violently.

Annie said goodnight at 11 o'clock. Mike and Alex had been quiet since they had eaten dinner, neither one talking directly to each other. No matter how many times she tried to get them to talk to one another they would give one-word answers and avoid looking at each other. Both Mike and Alex talked only to her, making it feel like a competition for her attention. Alex had helped her clear the table and when he had tried to talk to her Mike had walked in and all conversation had ceased.

After dinner Mike put on the TV and they sat in silence from 7 to 11 and watched the UFC fight and a bit of Two and a Half Men. When she had finally had enough she had said goodnight, kissing both of them on the cheek, catching Mike by surprise, and headed off to bed. She got undressed and slipped an old t-shirt over a black lacy bra and underwear and turned off the light. She laid on the bed and listened carefully for signs of movement. Around 1130 she heard the bedroom door next to her open and then shut and then a couple minutes late Mike's bedroom door closed. Annie fought off sleep for a whole hour before she got up, quietly opened her door and tiptoed to the next bedroom. Her heart was racing as she looked down the dark hallway to Mike's room. She felt the cool metal under her hand, and while watching Mike's door she opened the guest bedroom door and slipped inside.

The room was pitch black, except for the moon beams that came in threw the open curtains. She could see Alex's figure lying face down on the bed and his heavy breathing told her that he was asleep. She shook her head as she remembered that he could sleep threw pretty much anything. She climbed onto the bed beside him and gently touched his bare back. He didn't stir; even his breath remained the same. She tucked her hair behind her ear and kissed his neck. He moved this time. He lifted his head and smacked his lips, looking around. Finally he rolled over and looked up at her.

"Hey." He said.

"Shhh…" She hissed nervously.

"Oh right. Forgot." He rubbed his face and then looked at her. "I missed you." He said rubbing her bare leg.

"What did you talk about?" She asked him. He sighed and reached up, grabbing her arm gently and pulling her down beside him. He brushed her hair out of her face and bent down and kissed her. She let herself be kissed for a second before she broke it and looked at his sleepy face.

"Al, what did you say?"

"Huh?" He asked, not paying attention.

"What did you say that made him so mad?"

"Nothing." Alex said, bending down and kissing her again. His hand traveled up her thigh to her hip where he felt along the line of her panties. She felt anticipated goose bumps break out over her skin and broke the kiss again.

"Then why was he like that?"

"Like what?" Alex kissed her neck.

"Like…he was really cold."

"Who cares!" Alex said, his hand moving under her t-shirt, tracing along her outline of her ribs and finding their way under her bra. She shivered when he cupped her breast.

"Alex, please." She whispered and he sighed.

"Anne, who cares? Seriously, we're not here to get Daddy's approval."

"I know but…"

"Stick to the plan Annie. Nothing else matters." He said sternly. Annie looked at the ceiling and sighed.

"You're right. Nothing else matters." She said.

"Well, this matters." He said kissing her, this time his tongue made contact with hers and his hands her back at her hips working their way under her panties. She sighed as he started to pull them off and kissed his shoulder hungrily. She pulled her shirt over her head and he kissed her again. She clung to him hungrily as his hands traced her thigh again and then the edges of her pelvis. When his fingers slipped inside of her she gasped and she could feel Alex smile against her lips.

"Miss me?" He asked teasing her with his fingers.

"Yes." She barely managed to say.

"How much?" He asked kissing her neck and his fingers went deeper. She pulled his lips back to hers and bit his bottom lip. She reached down and grabbed him, gently guiding him to her. She felt his fingers leave her and then they were grabbing at her hair. She helped him pull off his boxers and she kissed his flat stomach. He grabbed her hair again and pulled her face to his. She moaned loudly as he entered her, digging her nails into his back.

Just then Mike's bedroom door opened and, gasping, Annie froze. Alex froze for a second as Mike passed by their room and went down the hallway. Then he grunted again as he pushed himself back into her.

"What are you doing?" She hissed, trying to pull away.

"Come on Baby." Alex said, kissing her breast gently.

"No, he might hear us."

"He might hear you, you mean." Alex said smiling and reaching down between her legs again. She bit her lip to stop herself from gasping and pulled on his hand regretfully.

"Stop. I don't want him to…"Before she could finish Alex's lips were on hers and she could barely think with the feeling of his soft lips on hers and his hand between her legs.

"If we're quiet he'll never know." Alex said, nibbling on her ear making her moan again. She clenched her legs around his hand, making his difficult for him to move.

"You're doing that on purpose." She whispered, gasping.

"Shh…he's coming back." He kissed her again and Annie heard Mike's door softly close. "Can I finish now?" Alex asked, removing his fingers from between her legs. She sighed and kissed him softly. He climbed back onto her and kissed her deeply, muffling the moan that escaped from her lips as he forced himself into her.

The weekend seemed to fly by. Annie had expected Mike to want to do things with them, get to know Alex a little more. But Saturday morning Mike left early, heading to work because he had some more paper work to do. He left them the house for nearly 6 hours and Annie found it difficult to look him in the face, after Alex's brilliant idea to take a bath in Mike's Jacuzzi tub. Saturday night Mike ordered a pizza and they watched Made of Honor and Ghosts of Girlfriend's past, both movies chosen by Annie. Annie fell asleep on Mike's shoulder and he shook her awake at 12 o'clock.

Sunday morning Annie woke up at 1130. After another long night with Alex, Annie could barely walk to the bathroom. She sighed as the hot water soothed all of her tense muscles. She looked at herself in the mirror, her hair dark and curly; her skin as pale as milk. She traced the small little scar just below her navel and sighed. Stick to the plan, Anne. Nothing else matters.

Alex left just after lunch. He shook hands with Mike, who barely said a word since Friday and kissed Annie chastely. Annie breathed a sigh of relief when Alex's car disappeared down the street.

"So…" She said, looking at the spot where Alex's car had just been.

"So…"He leaned against the porch and studied her. She sighed.

"Ok, let me have it."

"I…what do you see in him?" Mike asked frowning.

"I don't know…it's hard to explain I guess." She looked at his disapproving face and pushed the anger away. "Well what do you see in Abby?"

"Wh-I don't…" Annie raised her eyebrows and he sighed. "He's alright, I guess. He's kinda funny." Annie smiled. "What?"

"I like how you dodged my question with something that you thought would distract me." She said and Mike smiled and shrugged.

"Come on. Abby's probably dying to tell you how her date went with the Doctor." He said wrapping an arm around her shoulder and guiding her into the house.


	9. Find Yourself

"So…you're date was good then?" Annie asked from Abby's brown suede couch. She was watching Abby practically dance around the house cleaning up invisible dirt and plumping the pillows every two seconds.

"Oh…" She sighed. "It was amazing."

"Well, that's good then." Annie said looking around uncomfortably. "So, not to be rude, but why did you want me to come over again?"

"Oh yeah. I completely forgot. He has a kid." Abby said with a shrug.

"Colin does?" Annie asked narrowing her eyebrows.

"Yes." Abby's back was to Annie but by her posture Annie knew that Abby was waiting for Annie to make the connection.

"Let me guess, he's a teenager who seems like a lost soul and in need of a female companion while the two of you go on a romantic date somewhere." Annie said sarcastically. Abby bit her bottom lip and sat on the couch beside her.

"Ok now don't be mad but…when he, I mean Colin, told me that he had a son around your age I thought…well wouldn't it be kinda perfect if the two of you met."

"I have a boyfriend." Annie said with an exasperated sigh.

"I know…NO I wasn't thinking that way. Just as friends that's all." Abby said, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Annie sighed and shook her head.

"You sure do have a particular taste in men."

"Huh?" Abby looked at her confused.

"You know first my…Mike and now Colin. And both happen to have teenagers."

"NO! What? No way! I don't…NO!" Abby said, her cheeks turning pink and she got off the couch and started adjusting the same picture that she had adjusted 6 minutes earlier. Annie sat back, grabbed a pillow and smiled as she watched Abby become more and more flustered. "Please don't smile at me like that."

"I'm not…"

"You really are you're father's daughter. He smiles like that all the time." Annie's smile softened as she thought of this. The ringing doorbell interrupted her thoughts.

"He's early." Annie said.

"He's punctual." Abby said in Colin's defense.

"He's lame." Annie mumbled rolling her eyes and picking at a nail. She heard the doorbell open and Abby's greeting. She heard a deep voice but didn't even dare look back. She felt curiosity nibbling at her but she made herself stay focused on her nail.

"Come in, come in." Abby said, rushing past Annie. "This is Annie Chadway. She's gonna join us today." At the sound of her name Annie looked up at the two people looming over her shoulder. One of them was tall, maybe 6 ft and had piercing blue eyes and a killer smile. She knew he was Colin not only by the graying hair behind his ears but also because he gave off a doctor vibe. She purposely avoided looking at his son to show she wasn't even slightly interested. She smiled brightly, stuck out her hand and said, "Hi" in the sweetest voice she could manage.

"Nice to meet you." He said shaking her hand. "This is my son Jonah." She said turning to the person at his left. Annie continued to smile as she looked at the boy standing next to Colin. He was taller than his father by about 4 inches. He had short black hair and dark brown eyes. He was tanned, probably from spending the long summer days on the beach, surfing and drinking. He wore cream coloured khaki shorts and a soft blue button up shirt with a white t-shirt underneath. He looked at her with the same look that she was giving him, annoyance.

"Sup." He said sticking his hands into his pockets. She nodded at him and gave him the same fake smile. Annie raised her eyebrows at Abby and Abby jumped.

"Right well, we better go."

"Where are we headed?" Annie asked.

"You'll see." Colin said, giving Abby a smile. Annie looked towards Jonah just as he rolled his eyes.

"I'll just grab my purse and then we can go." Abby said, raising her eyebrows at Annie as she passed by. She was gone for a couple of seconds but the silence made it feel like hours. Annie looked at Colin and tried to come up with something to talk about but found that she really didn't care.

"Alright lets go."

Half an hour later Colin was pulling up to a large amusement park. He looked at Abby and they shared a smile. It felt like Mommy and Daddy were going to tell her that she had new baby brother on the way, or that she was getting a puppy the way they were so excited.

"Here we are." Colin said excitedly.

"You know we're not 6 right?" Jonah said bitterly. "Well I'm not. Pretty sure she's not." He said eyeing Annie quickly. She wasn't sure if she should've been offended or not.

"Yes, thank you Jonah. I do know your age." Coli said exasperated. He pulled into a parking spot and the car died.

"Well come on." Abby said with excitement as both Annie and Jonah made no move to take their seatbelts off. Annie sighed and undid her belt, slowly climbing out of the car. She looked up at a fake mountain with a dragon breathing fake fire at a cart as it zoomed by. She listened to the loud screams and the dinging of the stupid games. She was going to be for a long day.

"This is going to be fun. I promise." Abby whispered to her, as she linked her arm with Annie's. They stood back as Colin paid for the tickets. Jonah was too interested in he cell phone to be paying any attention.

"He doesn't think I'm your kid right?" Annie asked.

"No! I told him you were a friend." Abby said. "Its true right?" She looked worried for a second and Annie almost laughed. 16 years older than her, a great career and a life that was nothing like Annie's and Abby was the one worried about if they were friends or not.

"Ya, course." Annie laughed and Abby beamed back.

"Good! Now be a good friend and go play nice with Jonah." Abby said giving her a slight push.

"Yes mother!" Annie said sarcastically and rolled her eyes. She walked slightly ahead, in between Abby and Colin and Jonah.

"So which ride do we want to go on first?" Colin asked turning around and flashing that "award winning" grin.

"Um…"Abby looked around and then back at Annie.

"What do you guys want to do?"

"Shoot myself." Jonah mumbled so low that only Annie heard him. She snorted and he looked at her.

"Well?" Abby asked.

"Doesn't matter to me." Annie lied.

"Lets go on that one." Colin said pointing to a ride called The Flying Death Trap.

"Yea! That one looks good!" Abby said just as enthusiastic.

"Totally." Jonah mocked and Colin flashed him a stern look. Jonah just shrugged. Colin smiled at Abby, grabbed her hand and they headed off towards the ride. Annie sighed as she looked up at the bright red ride. She felt the butterflies grow in her stomach and felt queasy. Abby looked at her with a smile and a gave her a quick wink before turning back to Colin. The line moved slowly and felt even longer because Jonah was so engaged in whomever he was texting.

30 minutes later they were climbing into a cart. Colin slid in beside Abby leaving Jonah and Annie to sit together. Annie looked at them shocked that they were being so blunt, until she felt a slight push on her lower back.

"Better get in." Jonah said. She took a deep breath and shakily buckled herself into the cart. Abby turned around and smiled.

"Ready?" She practically had to yell over the noise. Annie raised her eyebrows and gave a small smile. Once Abby had turned back around she clenched her fists tight around the bar over her waist and closed her eyes. _One, two three, four, five_…she started counting down the seconds. She found that this made it easier somehow. When the cart started moving, her hands clenched tighter on the bar and she closed her eyes tighter. Someone screamed from behind, a boy; excited about that "rush" that came with roller coasters. Annie told herself not to open her eyes and it would be over in a second but before she realized it her eyes were open and she was looking down at the world below her. She could practically feel her face turn green. She shut her eyes just as the cart plummeted towards the ground. She squeezed her eyes tight, stopping the tears, as she was jostled from side to side, upside down, sprayed with water, then felt heat by her right arm. She kept them closed for the whole 30 seconds that the ride lasted. She didn't open her eyes until the cart came to a complete stop. She wiped her eyes with shaky hands and pushed up the bar from her lap. Abby and Colin hopped out of the cart excitedly but Annie took her time, seeing as her legs were completely made of jell-o.

"So? How was that?" Abby asked fixing her wild blonde hair.

"What a rush!" Colin exclaimed.

"You think that was a rush you should trying Acid!" Jonah said, his voice hoarse. "Now that's a rush." Annie, leaning on a post, watched as Colin's smile quickly faded and he scowled at his son.

"What?" Jonah asked.

"You cant just act normal for one day." Colin snapped, looking around to make sure no one was watching. "You can't just be yourself. You've got to give off an image to everyone around you that you're this tough guy who doesn't give two shits!" Jonah shrugged and then scowled at the crowd that passed by. "When are you going to grow up and realize that **jokes** like that are not funny!" Colin snapped. Abby looked at Annie quickly before looking away and Annie stared at the ground. Colin let out a deep sigh and turned to Abby.

"Lets go on another ride." He said, trying to sound enthusiastic.

"I think the Crazy Monster might be good." Abby said looking at the ride right next to them.

"Ok, lets go…"

"I think I'm gonna sit this one out." Jonah said, with fake disappointment. Colin scowled at him.

"No!"

"What do you mean no! You can't tell me not to go on rides!" Jonah argued.

"I can do what I damn well wa-"

"It's ok. I'm gonna sit this one out too." Annie said, taking a seat on a bench under a big tree. Colin and Abby looked at her with pure shock.

"Are you sure?" Abby asked, her face worried.

"Yea, I'm feeling a little shaky from the last ride." Annie said with a smile.

"We can wait." Colin said looking at Abby.

"No, its ok. You guys go. We'll wait here, right?" Annie looked up at Jonah, who was looking at her curiously. She raised her eyebrows at him and he nodded.

"Right." He smiled at his father who narrowed his eyebrows at him.

"Don't move from this spot!" Colin said.

"What if I have to use the men's room?" Jonah egged him on.

"Why don't we split up huh?" Abby said, touching Colin's arm softly. "We can meet up in an hour for lunch?"

"How about 2?" Jonah said mocking her. Abby looked taken aback for a second and then smiled.

"Sure. 2's good with me. Colin? Annie?" She looked at Annie with a fake smile and worried eyes. Annie sighed.

"Sounds good."

"Be here no later than 2!" Colin demanded and Jonah saluted him. Before he could react, Abby dragged Colin off to the next ride. Once they were out of sight Jonah sighed and started off towards the food court.

"Hold on a sec!" Annie said, chasing after him. He looked at her shocked and then frowned.

"What do you want?"

"You can't just leave me there." She said.

"I just did." He snapped. "Can't handle being by your _poor little self_."

"Listen asshole! Just because you've got Daddy issues doesn't mean you get to take them out on me." He looked at her shocked and then smiled. Her anger only increased. "Why are you smiling at me?"

"I never thought that a goody-two-shoes like you would swear like that!" He chuckled.

"Goody-two…who said I was a goody-two-shoes?"

"Just they way my father went on and on about you and your need to find your daddy and blah blah blah." He placed a dollar into a coke machine and pressed a button.

"She told him that?" Annie was stunned. She never thought that Abby would betray her like that.

"It's sweet you know. You make up for all us fuck ups in a way." He said passing her a bottle. At this she laughed.

"If only you knew." She said opening the cap and taking a sip.

"So what are we going to do for…3 hours?" he asked looking around, drinking his own bottle of pop.

"I have no idea. I hate roller coasters." She said with a sigh.

"No shit!" He said with a bitter laugh. "I hate them too. Of course _he_ wouldn't know that."

"Not around much?" Annie asked, sitting down on a shaded area of grass.

"How'd you figure that one out?"

"I sensed a bit of hostility." She said with a smirk and Jonah smiled, sighed and laid down beside her.

"Just a bit…" She watched him lie beside her, his arm bent behind his head, his eyes staring up at the tree above them. "My mom and him divorced when I was 10."

"That sucks." Annie said, tracing the rim of the bottle.

"Yea. He was sleeping with some…patient or something." Jonah said trying to make it sound like it was no big deal.

"How'd…sorry none of my business." She said quickly, feeling her cheeks go pink. He smiled at her.

"How'd she find out?" He asked and she nodded. "Well, this patient got pregnant and gave him the ultimatum of a life time. Either he was to tell his wife that he impregnated her and marry her or she would tell my mom herself and suck him dry." Annie looked at him shocked.

"Wow! Really?"

"Yup, well that's what he told us anyways. He married her a month after the divorce was finalized and my sister was born 2 months later." He sighed.

"That's…horrible." He smiled.

"I've got a brother too. He's 2 and half." He raised his eyebrows at her and Annie groaned.

"Please don't tell me that!" She shut her eyes, using the logic if you don't see it, it isn't there.

"I just thought you might like to know." Jonah said. Then he chuckled and Annie looked at him. "The best part about this is that he thought this would be a good idea. He has a secret little house across the way from your…whatever she is and thinks that his wife will never figure it out. Mind you she's not exactly bright so she might not find out." Annie sighed.

"What am I supposed to do now?" She said.

"Nothing. Its not your problem." He said with a shrug.

"I can't just pretend that I know nothing."

"You can tell her if you want, but then she'll be pissed at you."

"I don't want her to get hurt." Annie said.

"Either way she's gonna get hurt." He said like it was no big deal. "So what's your story?"

"My…what?"

"You know your horrible childhood that explains all your weird issues."

"I didn't…I never…I had a great childhood."

Took you three tries to get that one out." He said smiling at her. She sighed and shook her head.

"It doesn't matter anymore. It's in the past and there's nothing I can do about it now." She said with a shrug.

"That bad huh?" He sat up intrigued. She smiled.

"It's way too personal."

"I practically pour my heart out to you and you shut me down with…_its too personal._" He mocked her so well that she couldn't help but laugh. "It'll come out eventually." He said confidently lying back on the grass. She shook her head and sighed.

"Changing the subject now. Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Why? Interested?" He said giving her a wink.

"Easy there pretty boy! Just a simple question. You've been texting away for an hour." She laughed.

"Yea, she's in Pennsylvania for University." He said sadly.

"I see. That's got to be hard."

"Yea…I'm pretty sure she's seeing someone, but hey what can you do." He said with a shrug, checking his phone. Annie stared down at him incredulously. He smirked.

"No big deal or anything." She said.

"What can you do? It's not like we love each other…just a physical thing."

"Yet you maintain the boyfriend and girlfriend title while she's in school thousands of miles away." He smiled and shrugged. "I'll keep your feelings for her a secret don't worry." He smirked.

"What about you?"

"I don't really have feelings for this girl seeing as I've never met her before, but you never know."

"Ha-ha. I wish I was as funny as you." He said sarcastically. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Yea…"Her voice faded and she looked away.

"Embarrassed are we?"

"NO! Why?"

"You're all red."

"I'm naturally red." He smirked at her.

"You're not going to tell me are you?" She bit her lip and shook her head. "You're not, like a fugitive are you?" The smile completely vanished from her face and her hands went clammy.

"No, why? What makes you think that?" He laughed.

"You wont tell me about you're childhood and you wont tell me about your boyfriend. It just seems…funny." She sighed and looked around. There was no close enough that they would hear, and even if they did it wasn't like she was going to tell him _everything_. She closed her eyes and then let out a deep breath.

"If I tell you, please don't tell anyone." She pleaded. His smile vanished and he sat up straighter.

"What is it?"

"Please." She practically begged.

"Ok, you have my word." She sighed and closed her eyes.

"There you are!" Abby exclaimed. "We've been looking for you for an hour now."

"It's 3 already?" Annie said looking at her cell. Jonah was leaning against the tree, watching her. She was afraid to look at him because she wasn't sure what he was going to say to her.

"I'm starving." Colin said, patting his flat stomach. "You guys want something to eat?"

"Sure." Jonah said.

"I'll get it!" Annie said jumping up.

"It's ok honey. I can do it." Colin said grabbing her arm gently. She pulled it away, repulsed by his touch.

"No thanks. You never know when you might need it with the price of college these days." She narrowed her eyes at him and he stared at her with a frozen expression. Jonah snorted behind Colin and Annie turned away, heading to the food court.

"Thanks for leaving me behind." He said, mocking her slightly.

"I…sorry." She was uncomfortable and wished she had never said anything. Who in their right mind tells a stranger their complete life story? Jonah obviously picked up on the way she was feeling because he grabbed her arm and she stopped walking.

"Anne, I'm not going to tell anyone." He said, his smile completely gone, his eyes staring into hers.

"I…"

"wish you had never told me. I know, but you must feel better now?" He said raising his eyebrows.

"No one knows. Please…"She begged, tears forming in her eyes.

"Hey! Don't cry! It's ok. I'll carry it to my grave I promise." He said touching both of her shoulders. She looked up at him and the tears spilled over her cheeks. She felt herself being pulled into his chest. After a few seconds she became aware of the sound of air being sucked into his lungs, and the sound of his heart beating pretty fast. She took a deep, nervous breath and looked up. He was looking down at her with an entirely new expression, one that she couldn't exactly describe. And as it is normally done in movies his face slowly inched closer to hers and her lips parted. Next minute she was kissing him, and her whole body felt like it was on fire. Every time his lips parted she felt like she was getting a jolt of electricity and her knees were shaky. It wasn't a fast, heavy kiss, but she had never felt this way before. Then a pair of bright blue eyes and a curly black hair popped into her mind and she remembered what she was doing. She broke the kiss and stepped back.

"I…I can't." She was shaking all over and her breath was short as if she had been running for miles.

"I…"

"I have a boyfriend." She said looking up at him. "I can't do this."

"I'm sorry. It wont happen again." He said studying her face with a fierce, yet slightly dazed expression.

The ride home was awkward and long. Colin was mad at Jonah for their fight earlier. Annie was mad at Colin for what he was doing to Abby and uncomfortably aware of how close Jonah was sitting to her in the small car. Jonah was mad at confused with her and Abby was the only one who was completely lost and kept trying to engage everyone in conversation. When they pulled up to Mike's driveway Annie had never felt so relieved in her life.

"Thanks for today. It was fun." Annie said looking at Abby and her gaze flicked to Jonah. He stared at her with that same dazed expression and she felt her knees go weak again.

"I'll call you later." Abby said smiling at her.

"K." She shut the door and spotted Mike standing on the porch looking at her with an bright smile. Annie smiled her fake smile and waved as the car disappeared down the road. When she turned to Mike she sighed.

"Have a good day?" He said with an amused expression.

"Oh my god!" She let it out and he laughed.

"Is he that bad?"

"You have no idea." Annie shook her head.

"I've got spaghetti and meatballs waiting for us." He said wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"I love spaghetti and meatballs. It's my favorite dish." She said, feeling her stomach grumble at the thought of it.

"Mine too." He said proudly. "And I figured after a horrible day at the amusement park you would want your favorite dinner."

"How'd you know it was my favorite?" She asked with a smile.

"It was my favorite and your moms favorite."

"Huh…"

"And we both hated amusement parks, if you're wondering where you got it from." He said dropping his arm, smiling proudly, and disappearing into the house, leaving her completely shocked.


	10. Easy Money

Mike parked the car behind Liz's Black Lexus and smiled over at Annie. But his smile was not returned because for the past three days she had been so engulfed in her cell phone texting some kid that she met. He sighed and turned off the car. At the sound of the dead engine she looked up.

"Wow that was fast!" She said unbuckling her seat belt.

"That's what happens when you block off the rest of the world." He said sarcastically.

"Oh, sorry." She said with a bright smile. "We were just…talking."

"As long as its not sexting, then its alright." She stared at him with a completely shocked look.

"I…I have a boyfriend." She stammered.

"I was kidding." He shook his head and got out of the car. She slowly followed him. He looked up at his mother's brightly lit house.

"This is her house?" Annie asked.

"Yep. This is where we grew up." He said smiling at her.

"It's so cute!" She exclaimed and he smirked. He never understood house things like houses and small things, such as dogs, were cute. Annie walked ahead of him and knocked on the door.

"We don't knock. We just go in.," he said turning the handle and walking into the house. There was noise coming from the end of the hallway. "Hello?" he called down the hallway.

"Oh Michael's here." He heard his mother say. She appeared suddenly, with her hair in a bun, wearing a white blouse, a black skirt and a red apron. She smiled brightly showing slightly purple teeth. "Hello darling!" She said smiling brighter. Her nose was pink and her eyes were glossy. Mike looked at Annie briefly and she grinned back. To his surprise his mother wrapped her arms around Annie first and then him.

"Oh Annie dear, I have a surprise for you." She said clasping her hands together.

"Really?" Annie said giving Mike a worried glance.

"Well you're birthday is next week and I just wanted to give you something before you leave us." The smile on his mother's face faltered and her eyes started to glisten. "You will still visit after you leave right?"

"Of course!" Annie said, trying to hide the tears that were forming in her eyes too. Mike rolled his eyes and looked away. When it felt like 10 minutes had passed Mike sighed and his mother let go of Annie.

"Come on. Come and see." She said grasping Annie's hand. She practically skipped down the hallway dragging Annie behind her. As they entered the living room they were hit by the smell of wine and fresh baked pie. Mike instantly smiled and looked around the room. Liz and Tyler were there, sitting on his mother's love seat in the corner. Tyler was holding Hannah and Liz was sitting uncomfortably on the edge of the couch. Then Mike noticed the other person in the room and turned to her. She smiled up at him with the same bright red lips and cold green eyes. Her once red hair was died black and cropped into short curls. She was a very petit woman, without any meat on her bones. She gave off the image of a crow, sneaky and evil.

"Martha…"He breathed out and felt himself reach for Annie's hand.

"Hello Michael. My, you've changed since the last time I've seen you." She spoke with a voice that reminded him of Cruella DeVille. "I was just admiring your niece and nephew. Their so cute!" She said to Liz.

"Martha, this is Annie." Linda said putting her hands on Annie's shoulders. Martha's eyes narrowed and they looked over the girl slowly. Mike felt himself shield Annie as a cold smile spread over Martha's face. He felt Annie grip his arm tightly, aware of who this woman was.

"Hello dear." Martha said. Annie could barely move let alone speak.

"Annie? What's wrong honey?" Linda asked once she noticed that Annie wasn't responding the way she thought that Annie would've. She placed her hands on either side of Annie's face and looked into her eyes. "Do you know who this is?"

"Of course she does Mother!" Mike snapped and all eyes turned to him. "What kinda of fucking present is this?" He yelled, startling Hannah and making her cry. Mike watched Tyler quietly sneak out of the room with the sobbing baby.

"There's no need to shout!" Liz shouted back.

"What did you think she would do Mom? Burst into tears at the sight of the woman who abandoned her? Who didn't want her or her mother?" He shouted louder. His mother's eyes flicked to Martha on the couch, who looked just as stunned by the outbreak.

"I thought…"

"Well you thought COMPLETELY WRONG!" He moved his mother out of the way and grabbed Annie's hand. "Come on." He said gently pulling her out of the room.

"Wait!" The cold voice made him stop. He didn't look at her, but Annie couldn't help looking at her grandmother. "Let me look at her."

"Why should I?" He snapped, turning to look at her but completely covering his daughter.

"I'm her grandmother." She said with a small smile, trying to catch Annie's eye.

"You don't get that title! You gave that up when you turned your daughter away." She studied his serious face and then let out a peep of a laugh.

"Is that what you think? Because my daughter was pregnant that I kicked her out?" She said, amusement filling her voice. Mike stared back at her trying to hide his confusion with anger. "I kicked her out because she stole money from me to feed her addictions."

"No." Mike said, shaking his head.

"It's true Michael."

"NO! Maria would…never!"

"No? You clearly didn't know her as well as the rest of us did." She said looking around the room. Both Linda and Liz's heads were down, trying to hide the look of guilt on their faces.

"You…you all knew? And no one said anything?" he said sounding shocked.

"We had seen her after she'd had the baby!" Liz caved first. Mike scowled at her. "She looked horrible, but pretended like nothing had happened."

"We didn't tell you because we thought you were moving on." Linda explained.

"You…"he stopped and let out a laugh of disbelief. "You didn't tell me that I had a daughter because you thought I was moving on?" His voice rose again.

"Mike, please. Honey we just wanted to protect you." Linda said touching his arm. He pulled his arm away and scowled at her.

"You tried to _protect me from my OWN family!_ What kind of mother are you?" The tears were pouring down her cheeks now. She sank into the nearest chair and looked up at him as if he had just hit her.

"It's not her fault." Martha said, clearly enjoying the drama.

"You should leave! This does not involve you anymore!" Mike ordered.

"You don't believe me, but if you think for even a second you'll realize that I'm only speaking the truth." She picked up her fur coat and slipped it over her arm. "This poor child had to grow up with a horrible mother than any of us have turned out to be. For that…it's your fault. Not ours." She said bitterly and left the house. He stood rooted to his spot unable to think of anything but those words…_it's your fault._

"Mike please! Don't leave." Linda called, racing out the front door.

"I have to go." He snapped, fumbling with his keys. "I can't stay _here!_" She stopped again and just stared at her son.

"I'll call you later."

"Don't bother!" he snapped and climbed into his car. Annie quickly climbed into the passenger and closed the door just as he shot out of the driveway. Her hands were clammy and she felt nauseous. As his speed increased she saw those pretty little blue eyes and red curly hair that meant the entire world to her.

"Where are we going?" She asked nervously. His hands clenched on the wheel and he didn't answer. She watched the houses fly by and turn into trees. "Where are we going?" She asked again. But the car was slowing down. He turned onto a gravel road and carefully drove down the moonlit road. She saw the edge of a cliff up ahead and closed her eyes. Then the engine turned off and Mike undid his seatbelt. Annie opened her eyes when she heard his car door open. She watched him walk to the front of the car and sit on the hood. She slowly undid her seatbelt and then got out of the car.

"Why did you lie to me?" he asked once she was seated beside him. They were staring at the city below them, ignited by millions of lights.

"I…" She couldn't think of the right answer. She couldn't tell him the truth because he would be mad, but worse…devastated. But she had to tell him something.

"Annie," He sighed and shook his head. "I don't know why you lied to me and if you don't want to tell me its ok. Just know that when you knocked on my door three weeks ago I was…a mess. And now, with you in my life I feel like all the years that I wasted thinking about her and what I missed, are gone. I still feel pain when I think of your mother…"he paused looking over the city. "But I don't feel…crushed anymore. Do you understand what I mean?" He asked looking at her. She stared into his sincere face and shook her head.

"I guess, what I'm trying to say is that I don't want you to leave. Move in with me. I can't lose you like I lost her, whether it was like her mother's says or not. I need you in my life. You're my daughter; my baby girl!" He said giving her the saddest smile and holding her hand gently. She stared into his face and felt her heart break. She felt the words rising in her throat and could do nothing to stop it from erupting out.

"I can't do this!" She said pulling away from him.

"Can't do what?" He said watching her walk a bit away. She raised her head to the sky and let the tears fall.

"I've…I've been…"

"Annie, its ok. You can tell me." He said getting up to comfort her.

"NO!" She snapped and he froze. "I need to tell you…something."

"Tell me what?"

"I…I've been…"

"Anne!" A deep voice, vaguely familiar came from the darkness of the woods.

"Alex?" She looked horrified as he emerged from the woods. He smiled at her and then looked at Mike.

"This is perfect Anne. Good job."

"I didn't." Her horrified face turned to Mike. "I didn't do this."

"What's going on?" Mike snapped looking at Alex who was advancing on him like tiger on his prey. "How did you know we were here?"

"I followed you." Alex said with a shrug.

"You…followed us?" Annie said shocked.

"Of course. I've been following you since you moved in." He said to her and touched her face gently. She recoiled from him touch and he chuckled.

"Come on Annie. Let's go home." Mike said, opening her door.

"No I don't think so." Alex said.

"Alex please. Let's talk about this." Annie said, her voice begging him.

"Talk about what?" Mike snapped, completely agitated now.

"You wanna tell him Anne? Now's a good time." Alex smiled. "Final goodbye and all."

"Final goo-Annie, what's going on?" Mike said looking directly at her, this time his voice was begging.

"I…We…"

"We're going to kill you." Alex said simply. Mike looked at him with shock and disbelief. Then his eyes turned to Annie and her guilty, tear stained face proved that what Alex said was right.

"You're going to…"

"Yup." Alex said.

"I don't want to!" Annie screeched, turning to Alex. "There's got to be another way!" His eyes narrowed and he scowled.

"It doesn't matter what you want anymore Annie. You've done your job." He gave her a shove and she fell down.

"Don't you DARE TOUCH HER!" Mike shouted and Alex laughed.

"So sweet. Sticking up for her when she's done nothing but help me plot your death for the past year." Alex said picking at a nail.

"I didn't…"

"Don't lie Annie, dear." Alex said flatly.

"I didn't know…" She stood up. "I needed to save her."

"What?" Mike shook his head. His heart completely shattered and his brain fuzzy.

"She's talking about our daughter." Alex said.

"Your…daughter?" Mike looked at Annie and she nodded, wiping her face. "You've got a daughter…with him?"

"Yup!" Alex snapped.

"He's keeping her from me!" Annie screeched. "He's made me chose between her or you." Her face dropped. "And I can't chose anyone but her."

"I like how you're trying to pin this one me Anne, but if that's what will make you sleep better at night then ok, it's my fault you're going to die."

"It is your fault!" Annie said, her face furious. "You did this with mom too."

"You planned your mother's death! I didn't."

"I…"

"You killed Maria?" Mike said barely focusing.

"It was all Anne's idea." Alex said smiling at her.

"It wasn't! All I said was…"

"I wish she was out of my life. I just helped you get what you wanted. That's all I've ever done for you. Help you get what you want." Alex said bitterly. "And you repay me by stabbing me in the back and trying to flake out on our plans.

"I…I'll give you money!"

"The amount of money you'll inherit vs. what you've got in your bank account…hmm…tough choice Anne." Alex said with a sarcastic smile.

"This is about money?" Mike said.

"Finally caught up!" Alex said. "Anne came into a surprisingly large sum of money when we, ok I killed her mother. So we she discovered who you were…we came up with the plan to kill you. But she had to make herself present in your life for people to know that she's your next of kin." Alex smiled at Mike. "And that little shack of yours is perfect for the three of us."

"I never did that!" Annie said, walking towards Mike. He stared down at her with complete shock. "You have to believe me, I never did it."

"Oh yea, she's completely innocent. She just felt like shacking up with dear old daddy while she'd been living with her grandmother for 6 months."

"You lived with her!" Mike thought that he couldn't be anymore surprised.

"She's the _we_ that he was talking about." Annie explained.

"She heard about Maria's murder. We staged a overdose. Anyways she heard about the death and came to visit. She's cute the genius because she put two and two together and told us that she wouldn't tell the cops as long as we spilt the profit with her."

"Spilt the profit? Sounds like your selling furniture." Mike snapped and Alex chuckled.

"Yea she's twisted like that. Anyways, she helped us figure out this genius plan. She rushed home to tell me what happened while you were there and I came out to follow you. And here we are." Mike looked from an amused Alex to a grief stricken Annie.

"Alex please! Don't do this! He's the only family I've got left." Annie begged.

"What? You forget about that poor little 2 year old that's at home crying for you every night!" Annie's bottom lip trembled and she looked down at the city.

"Please." She whispered.

"Too late for changing the plan." Alex said smiling at Mike as he stood in front of him. "Too late."

The next thing that happened was Annie had screamed a battle cry and a sharp, burning pain grew in Mike's stomach. He felt his stomach lurch forward and cool air burned his bare skin. He heard a man's scream and then silence. The world had gone white with pain and he sank down to his knees. He felt hands on his shoulders and his head hit the grass. The last thing he remembered seeing was a pair of sad blue eyes staring back at him.


	11. She's Her Own Woman

Anne wrapped her arms around herself tightly as she watched the police cruiser appear in the driveway. She bit her bottom lip nervously and felt tears in her eyes. Then there were two warms hands on her shoulders.

"You ok?" Mike asked, wincing slightly.

"You shouldn't be standing." Anne fussed for a second and then looked back out the window.

"It'll be ok." He whispered before kissing her head softly. She nodded and a tear ran down her cheek. She heard the doorbell ring and her heart stopped. She watched Mike walk down the hallway and heard him open the door. The police officer was a woman and Anne could hear Mike invite the woman in.

"Anne, someone's here to see you." Mike called down the hallway. She took a deep breath and went into the hallway. Her gaze fell on the tall woman with her brown hair pulled back into a tight bun. She gave Anne a warm smile and then looked down. And there she was, holding tightly to the officer's hand, and looking at Mike with her bright blue eyes.

"Oh…"Anne breathed out as the tears raced down her cheek. At this the little baby looked at her and smiled a big toothy smile.

"Mommy!" She screamed and stumbled down the hallway into Anne's arms. Anne held the baby so close to her that she thought she was going to crush her. She had that smell of pancakes and Johnsons baby lotion and baby powder.

"Oh my baby!" Anne cried into her hair. She saw Mike shake hands with the officer, tears in his eyes as well as the officers. But nothing matter now, her baby was back, safe in her arms. For the first time in a year she could breath.

_5 years later_

They pulled up to the house and Mike felt his heart break slightly. He sighed as he put the car into park and stared at the three-bedroom bungalow, with green siding and large white windows. He felt a warm hand on his as tears formed in his eyes.

"She'll be ok." Abby said softly. He inhaled deeply and smiled at her.

"I know."

"And it's only half an hour away." Abby said looking up at the house.

"I know."

"It's gonna be sad not having little Rosie running around though." Abby sighed and Mike couldn't bring himself to answer. They sat in silence looking at the house. Then Mike coughed and rubbed his face.

"Well let's go inside. They told us to be here an hour ago." He said smiling at her and got out of the car. They held hands as they walked up to the door and Mike knocked on the door. They heard a bustle of sound from behind the door and the thick oak door swung open.

"GRANDPA!" Rose cried out, swinging open the door and diving into Mike's arms. He couldn't stop the huge grin that grew on his face every time he saw her.

"Oh! Man you're getting heavy!" He grunted.

"You know your gonna give me a fat complex." Rose said looking into Mike's eyes. Abby chuckled beside him.

"Do you have a fat complex?" he asked her. She tilted her head to think about it and then smiled.

"Nope!" He smiled and kissed her cheek. "How's my girl today?"

"Ok." She shrugged.

"What's up honey?" Abby asked, brushing back one of Rose's curly pig tails.

"Mom's setting up my new room." She frowned.

"Aren't you excited to get a new room?" Abby asked.

"It's not the same." Mike felt his heart break at this 7-year-olds pain.

"You know, you'll always have your room at our house." Mike said to her.

"But what about your baby." Rose said looking at Abby's tiny little baby bump.

"He gets your mom's room." Mike said giving her a wink. "Now show me your new house."

"Dad says that I cant go in the kitchen, because their setting up the table, but I can show you the living room." She said grabbing each of their hands and pulling them into the house.

As they entered the house Mike noticed how bright it was. The walls were a pale blue colour and the floor was hard wood. The next thing he noticed was the smell of pine sol. The whole house smelt as if it had just been doused in cleaning solution. He smirked as he thought of Annie's OCD. Then he noticed the pile of broken down boxes by the coat rack.

"I think we're late." Mike said to Abby.

"I'll go and help Annie." She said disappearing up the stairs.

"This way Grandpa." Rose said pulling him.

"Hm…is this your room?" He asked looking around. "I really like what you've done with the place. Although I think you're missing your bed." He said frowning at her. She burst into giggles.

"No silly. This is the living room."

"Oh I see. That makes more sense."

"Yea see there's the TV and the couches." She said pointing to the plasma TV hanging on the interior wall, and the two black couches facing the TV. "Interesting." He said looking around.

"Let's see my room next."

"Just let me say Hi to your dad." He said, heading into the kitchen, which was connected to the living room. The kitchen was a brown colour with chestnut cabinets and stainless steel stove and fridge (a house warming present from Mike and Abby). He saw a small round table standing on the other side of the counter and heard a grunt come from underneath it.

"Want some help?" Mike asked, startling Jonah who then bumped his head on the table. He stood up, rubbing his head and smiled.

"Hey, when'd you guys get here?" He asked.

"A couple of minutes ago. Just getting the personal tour." He said looking at Rose who stood outside the kitchen.

"I didn't come in the kitchen." She said looking at Jonah and he smirked.

"Get over here you squirt." She smiled and raced into his arms. When Annie had started dating Jonah she had been hesitant about introducing him to Rose. But when the two met they hit it off right away and within months Rose was calling him Dad. It had just seemed right when Jonah and Annie got married and bought this house last month.

"So did you go and see her?" Jonah asked looking at the ceiling.

"Just about to."

"She's freaking out." Rose said, and Jonah smirked.

"Girls do that. You'll see." Mike said rubbing her head. She pushed his hand away and growled at him.

"I'll never be like that!" She said, with a nod.

"Course." Mike smirked and Jonah shook his head. "Well I better go and see your Mom."

"I'll go with you." Rose said.

"No, I need your help." Jonah said, giving Mike the chance to visit with his daughter alone. Mike left the kitchen as he heard Rose cry, "With what?" He shook his head as he climbed the steps. The hallway up here was carpeted with soft white carpets. It was a narrow hallway, with the bathroom door the first door he passed. Then he passed a smaller room, filled with boxes and came to stop at a bright pink room. Annie and Abby were sitting on the floor going over instructions on hanging a curtain around the four-poster bed.

"I think it just slides onto the ring, and then you hang it." Abby said.

"What's this piece for?" Annie said holding up a small nut. Mike chuckled.

"It probably goes with that dollhouse in the corner that you've only partly set up." Annie looked up at his voice and grinned.

"Hey dad." She said, standing up and wrapping her arms around him.

"How are you doing honey?"

"I'm…" she shrugged.

"She's stressed out." Abby said, assembling the curtain. Annie smiled and rested her head on Mike's shoulder.

"Who would've thought that it would be this much work?" she said and Mike chuckled.

"Try assembling a crib with a crazy control freak." He mumbled, but Abby still heard him.

"If you just listened to me I wouldn't have gotten so mad."

"You've set up the crib already?" Annie said looking at Abby and then at Mike.

"You realize who your talking to right?" Abby said looking up at them with a wide grin. "Your father has to have everything done way in advance. Except for his paper work. That he always leaves till the last minute."

"Only because it bothers you so much." He said kissing Abby's cheek. There was a loud crash from downstairs, followed by Roses cries.

"Oh for the love of God!" Annie snapped.

"I'll go and see what happened." Abby said, touching Mike's arm gently. She looked at him, raising her eyebrows and he smiled. Once they were alone he sighed and looked at his daughter.

"Alright so the dollhouse or the princess bed?"

At 11:00 that night Mike and Abby headed out to the car. They waved to an exhausted Annie and Jonah standing on the porch. He sighed as he drove away from the house.

"She'll be ok." Abby said more to herself than to him.

"I know."

"It's a great little house."

"It's going to be weird." He said and Abby nodded, rubbing her stomach.

"But we'll get used to it."

"If you had told me, 6 years ago that I'd be this big sap, married with two kids I'd told you to get off the drugs." He shook his head in disbelief and Abby smiled.

"It's kind of cute. How you cry all the time." She teased.

"I think you've gotten us mixed up." He said looking at her fondly. Then his smile faded and he sighed. "She'll be ok right?"

"With you visiting every other day, how could she not be?" Mike smiled and felt a little better. He would've never thought that one person could make him worry this much; could break his heart with one single tear; could make his heart swell with a single word. He would miss her, he would miss both of them, but he needed to let her live her life now that she was able too. Abby sighed and closed her eyes. He had so many things to look forward to. Annie moving out was for the best. He nodded to himself.

"Want to get an ice cream? I'm starving!" Abby said. He shook his head.

"You just ate like an hour ago."

"Hey I'm eating for two here!" She snapped and then smiled. "Please?" She batted her eyelashes at him and he chuckled.

"Never thought I'd be this much of a sap." He said as he pulled into the dairy queen drive thru.


End file.
